urban transport in the oic megacities€¦ · urban transport in the oic megacities comcec...

URBAN TRANSPORT IN THE OIC MEGACITIES

COMCEC COORDINATION OFFICE October 2015

Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC)

This report has been commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office to WYG and Fimotions. Views and opinions expressed in the report are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent the official views of the COMCEC Coordination Office or the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Excerpts from the report can be made as long as references are provided. All intellectual and industrial property rights for the report belong to the COMCEC Coordination Office. This report is for individual use and it shall not be used for commercial purposes. Except for purposes of individual use, this report shall not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying, CD recording, or by any physical or electronic reproduction system, or translated and provided to the access of any subscriber through electronic means for commercial purposes without the permission of the COMCEC Coordination Office.

For further information please contact: COMCEC Coordination Office Necatibey Caddesi No: 110/A 06100 Yücetepe Ankara/TURKEY Phone: 90 312 294 57 10 Fax: 90 312 294 57 77 Web: www.comcec.org

http://www.comcec.org/

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.1. Scope and Description of the Study ........................................................................................................................... 4 1.2. Background to Work Undertaken .............................................................................................................................. 4

2. Current State in the OIC Member States ........................................................................................................................... 6

2.1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2. What is a Megacity? .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 2.3. OIC Megacities Examined in This Report ................................................................................................................ 7 2.4. Overview of OIC Megacities Transport .................................................................................................................... 8

3. Overview of Global Trends in World’s Megacities .................................................................................................. 11

3.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.2. Analysis of Transport Problems in Megacities .................................................................................................. 12 3.3. Transport Network and Land Use Planning ....................................................................................................... 13

3.3.1. Transport network and infrastructure ...................................................................................................... 13 3.3.2. Land use and urban form ................................................................................................................................. 16

3.4. Mode Availability and Shares .................................................................................................................................... 19 3.4.1. Private motorized transport ........................................................................................................................... 20 3.4.2. Public transport .................................................................................................................................................... 25 3.4.3. Non-motorized transport (NMT) .................................................................................................................. 31

3.5. Freight and Servicing .................................................................................................................................................... 34 3.5.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 34 3.5.2. Freight and servicing of megacities in developed countries ............................................................ 35 3.5.3. Freight and servicing of megacities in developing countries ........................................................... 36

3.6. Road Safety ........................................................................................................................................................................ 38 3.6.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 38 3.6.2. Road safety of megacities in developed countries ................................................................................ 39 3.6.3. Road safety of megacities in developing countries ............................................................................... 40

3.7. Institutions and Organizational structure ........................................................................................................... 41 3.7.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 41 3.7.2. Institutions and organizational structure in developed world megacities ................................ 41 3.7.3. Institutions and organization in developing world megacities ....................................................... 42

3.8. Urban Transport Infrastructure Financing ......................................................................................................... 42 3.8.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 42 3.8.2. Urban transport infrastructure financing in developed world megacities ................................ 43 3.8.3. Urban transport infrastructure financing in developing world megacities............................... 44

3.9. Health ................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 3.9.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 46 3.9.2. Transport and health in the megacities in developed countries .................................................... 47 3.9.3. Transport and health in the megacities in developing countries ................................................... 49

3.10. Climate Change ................................................................................................................................................................ 49 3.10.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 3.10.2. Climate change of megacities in developed countries ......................................................................... 50 3.10.3. Climate change of megacities in developing countries ....................................................................... 51

3.11. Social Exclusion ............................................................................................................................................................... 52 3.11.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 52 3.11.2. Transport related social exclusion in megacities of developed countries ................................. 53 3.11.3. Transport related social exclusion in developing countries ............................................................. 55

3.12. Human Dimension of Cities ........................................................................................................................................ 58 3.12.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 58 3.12.2. Human dimension of developed cities ....................................................................................................... 58 3.12.3. Human dimension of developing cities ...................................................................................................... 59

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4. 3 OIC Case Studies Review ..................................................................................................................................................... 61 4.1. Jakarta .................................................................................................................................................................................. 61

4.1.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................... 61 4.1.2. Transport network and infrastructure ...................................................................................................... 61 4.1.3. Land use and urban form ................................................................................................................................. 63 4.1.4. Mode availability and shares .......................................................................................................................... 64 4.1.5. Private motorized transport ........................................................................................................................... 65 4.1.6. Freight and servicing .......................................................................................................................................... 70 4.1.7. Road safety.............................................................................................................................................................. 71 4.1.8. Institutions and organizational structure ................................................................................................. 71 4.1.9. Urban transport infrastructure financing ................................................................................................. 71 4.1.10. Health ........................................................................................................................................................................ 72 4.1.11. Climate change ...................................................................................................................................................... 73 4.1.12. Social exclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 73 4.1.13. Human dimension ............................................................................................................................................... 75 4.1.14. Summary of the key points of the meetings ............................................................................................. 76 4.1.15. Planning documents currently adopted by Jakarta .............................................................................. 79 4.1.16. Discussion of the current situation of Jakarta ......................................................................................... 81 4.1.17. SWOT analysis ....................................................................................................................................................... 83

4.2. Cairo...................................................................................................................................................................................... 85 4.2.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................... 85 4.2.2. Transport network and infrastructure ...................................................................................................... 88 4.2.3. Land use and urban form ................................................................................................................................. 91 4.2.4. Mode availability and shares .......................................................................................................................... 92 4.2.5. Freight and servicing .......................................................................................................................................... 96 4.2.6. Road safety.............................................................................................................................................................. 97 4.2.7. Institutions and organizational structure ............................................................................................... 100 4.2.8. Urban transport infrastructure financing ............................................................................................... 101 4.2.9. Health ...................................................................................................................................................................... 102 4.2.10. Climate change .................................................................................................................................................... 102 4.2.11. Social exclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 102 4.2.12. Human dimension ............................................................................................................................................. 103 4.2.13. General conditions and problems observed .......................................................................................... 103 4.2.14. Planning documents currently adopted by Cairo ................................................................................ 104 4.2.15. Discussion of current situation and critical issues for success ..................................................... 114 4.2.16. SWOT analysis summary ................................................................................................................................ 120

4.3. Dakar .................................................................................................................................................................................. 121 4.3.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................. 121 4.3.2. Summary of the key points of the meetings ........................................................................................... 124 4.3.3. National, urban and transport strategies adopted for Dakar ......................................................... 126

5. SWOT Analysis of OIC Megacity Transport Issues ................................................................................................. 133

5.1. Lagos .................................................................................................................................................................................. 133 5.1.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................. 133 5.1.2. Transport network and infrastructure .................................................................................................... 134 5.1.3. Land use and urban form ............................................................................................................................... 134 5.1.4. Mode availability and shares ........................................................................................................................ 134 5.1.5. Freight ..................................................................................................................................................................... 136 5.1.6. Road safety............................................................................................................................................................ 137 5.1.7. Urban transport infrastructure financing ............................................................................................... 137 5.1.8. Health ...................................................................................................................................................................... 137 5.1.9. Climate change .................................................................................................................................................... 137 5.1.10. Social exclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 138 5.1.11. Human dimension ............................................................................................................................................. 139 5.1.12. SWOT table Lagos .............................................................................................................................................. 139

5.2. Karachi............................................................................................................................................................................... 140 5.2.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................. 140 5.2.2. Land use planning and urban form ............................................................................................................ 141

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5.3. Istanbul ............................................................................................................................................................................. 141 5.3.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................. 141 5.3.2. Land use and urban form ............................................................................................................................... 141 5.3.3. Institutions and organization ....................................................................................................................... 142 5.3.4. Urban freight and logistics ............................................................................................................................. 142

5.4. Dhaka ................................................................................................................................................................................. 143 5.4.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................. 143 5.4.2. Transport network and land use planning ............................................................................................. 143 Mode availability ............................................................................................................................................................... 144 5.4.3. Road safety............................................................................................................................................................ 144 5.4.4. Institutions and organizational structure ............................................................................................... 145 5.4.5. Infrastructure financing .................................................................................................................................. 145 5.4.6. Health ...................................................................................................................................................................... 146 5.4.7. Climate change .................................................................................................................................................... 146

5.5. Tehran ............................................................................................................................................................................... 147 5.5.1. Urban background ............................................................................................................................................. 147 5.5.2. Transport network and land use planning ............................................................................................. 147 5.5.3. Mode availability ................................................................................................................................................ 148 5.5.4. Road Safety ........................................................................................................................................................... 150 5.5.5. Institutions and organizational structure ............................................................................................... 151 5.5.6. Infrastructure financing .................................................................................................................................. 151 5.5.7. Health ...................................................................................................................................................................... 152 5.5.8. Social exclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 152 5.5.9. Human dimension ............................................................................................................................................. 153 5.5.10. SWOT analysis ..................................................................................................................................................... 153

6. Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................................................................. 155

6.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 155 6.2. The Case of Islamic Megacities ............................................................................................................................... 155

6.2.1. Transport network and land use planning ............................................................................................. 157 6.2.2. Mode availability and shares ........................................................................................................................ 157 6.2.3. Institutions and organizational structure ............................................................................................... 158 6.2.4. Freight and servicing ........................................................................................................................................ 159 6.2.5. Urban transport infrastructure financing ............................................................................................... 159 6.2.6. Road safety............................................................................................................................................................ 160 6.2.7. Health ...................................................................................................................................................................... 160 6.2.8. Climate change .................................................................................................................................................... 160 6.2.9. Social exclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 161 6.2.10. Human dimension ............................................................................................................................................. 161 6.2.11. Summary ................................................................................................................................................................ 162

Appendix–1: Transport Oriented Development and Public Transport Planning in Hong Kong and

Singapore: Lessons on integration, regulation and car ownership restriction ....................... 165 Appendix–2: Public Transport, Land Use Planning and Social Innovation: The case of Curitiba, Brazil . 169 Appendix–3: Cycling in the Netherlands: Lessons learned from integrated environmental, urban and

transport planning ............................................................................................................................................. 172 Appendix–4: Sustainable urban freight operations, better air quality and safety in London ....................... 177 List of References ............................................................................................................................................................................ 180

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List of Tables

Table 1: Population size and ranking of urban agglomeration as of 1 July 2014 ....................................................... 6

Table 2: Megacities examined in this report ............................................................................................................................... 8

Table 3: Summary of common alternative fuels and vehicle technologies ................................................................ 21

Table 4: Contrasting approaches to transport planning ..................................................................................................... 51

Table 5: List of regencies/cities in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area ................................................................................ 61

Table 6: SWOT table Jakarta ............................................................................................................................................................ 83

Table 7: Number of licensed vehicles between 2011 and 2014 in Egypt ................................................................... 86

Table 8: Increase in road freight since 1992 ............................................................................................................................ 96

Table 9: Freight modal splits - comparison with other countries using 2005 data .............................................. 96

Table 10: 2005 published target goods transport modal shares (%)........................................................................... 97

Table 11: Road accidents and casualties statistics .............................................................................................................. 145

Table 12: SWOT table Dhaka ......................................................................................................................................................... 147

Table 13: Summary of key recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 162

Table 14: Key policies and innovative measures used to promote safe and convenient cycling ................... 172

Table 15: Taxation, parking and land use policies that encourage cycling indirectly ......................................... 175

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Relationship between transport and land use..................................................................................................... 16

Figure 2: Existing (solid line) and planned (dash line) toll-highway network ......................................................... 62

Figure 3: Existing and planned public transport network in 2020 ................................................................................ 63

Figure 4: Daily trips in and to Jakarta in 2013 ........................................................................................................................ 64

Figure 5: Modal share in Jabodetabek in 2013 ....................................................................................................................... 64

Figure 6: Traffic sign before entering 3 in 1 area .................................................................................................................. 66

Figure 7: Public transport modes in Jakarta Clockwise ...................................................................................................... 67

Figure 8: MRT Jakarta route network ......................................................................................................................................... 68

Figure 9: Planned LRT routes ......................................................................................................................................................... 69

Figure 10: Footways used as car parking and by street sellers ....................................................................................... 70

Figure 11: Freight movement from and to Port of Tj. Priok.............................................................................................. 70

Figure 12: A special compartment for women in the front part of Commuter Rail Line ..................................... 74

Figure 13: Situation of Kebon Kacang area ............................................................................................................................... 75

Figure 14: Kampung and the modern city of Jakarta ........................................................................................................... 76

Figure 15: A new parking meter in Jakarta ............................................................................................................................... 77

Figure 16: Three main strategies in Jakarta Transportation Master Plan .................................................................. 81

Figure 17: Number of licensed vehicles between 2011 and 2014 in Egypt ............................................................... 86

Figure 18: Number of cars in Cairo compared to other cities .......................................................................................... 87

Figure 19: Expected trip generation increase in Cairo ........................................................................................................ 87

Figure 20: Typical street scene in Cairo ..................................................................................................................................... 88

Figure 21: 2010 Public Transport trip distributions............................................................................................................ 93

Figure 22: Challenges for transport in Cairo ............................................................................................................................ 93

Figure 23: Modal shares in Cairo 2022 ....................................................................................................................................... 94

Figure 24: Motorized trip patterns in Cairo 2022 ................................................................................................................. 94

Figure 25: Buses per million of population in cities across the world ......................................................................... 95

Figure 26: Metro ridership and coverage in cities across the world ............................................................................. 96

Figure 27: Trends in road traffic deaths in Egypt .................................................................................................................. 98

Figure 28: Deaths by road user category in Egypt ................................................................................................................ 98

Figure 29: Proposed expressway network ............................................................................................................................. 105

Figure 30: What will happen in 2015? “Do Nothing” Situation ..................................................................................... 106

Figure 31: Extract from JICA Cairo Urban Toll Expressway Report ............................................................................ 107

Figure 32: Greater Cairo Metro lines ......................................................................................................................................... 111

Figure 33: Line 4 of Greater Cairo ............................................................................................................................................... 112

Figure 34: 2009 UNDP, Cairo Sustainable Transport Report ......................................................................................... 116

Figure 35: Effectiveness of TDM methods............................................................................................................................... 118

Figure 36: From top to the right: The region of Dakar. ..................................................................................................... 121

Figure 37: The administrative region of Dakar and the four departments. ............................................................. 122

Figure 38: Observed mode share of motorized trips in LMA in 2013 ........................................................................ 135

Figure 39: Typical rickshaw traffic conditions in Dhaka .................................................................................................. 144

Figure 40: The interrelationships among transport related areas .............................................................................. 163

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List of Abbreviations

BAU: Business as Usual

BRT: Bus Rapid Transit

EEV: Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle

GDP: Gross Domestic Product

GHG: Greenhouse Gas

HOV: High Occupancy Vehicle lane

ICT: Information Communication Technology

IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

ITDP: Institute for Transportation and Development Policy

LEZ: Low Emissions Zone

MDB: Multilateral Development Bank

MFI: Multilateral Financial Institution

NGO: Non-Governmental Organization

NMT: Non-Motorized Transport

UN: United Nations

OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OIC: Organization for Islamic Cooperation

PPP: Public Private Partnership

SWOT: Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

TfL: Transport for London

TOD: Transit Oriented Development

UHI: Urban Heat Island

USD: United States Dollar

Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities

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Executive Summary

This study analyses the latest trends in OIC megacities, identifies the common challenges these cities

are facing and provides insights and suggestions for future policy actions. The ultimate aim of the

study is to trigger a serious debate among OIC member countries on urban transport related issues

and how to address these efficiently.

Today more than half of the world’s population lives in cities and this figure is expected to reach

75% by 2050. Not surprisingly, rapid urbanization is one of the most pressing global issues. At the

moment there are 28 megacities in the world, of which six are Islamic. These six cities are Cairo,

Dhaka, Karachi, Istanbul, Lagos, and Jakarta. These six cities, along with Tehran, (which is considered

as a megacity based on the population of its wider metropolitan area), are examined thoroughly in

this report. The Islamic megacities share both differences and similarities, in terms of their size,

geographic location, political and economic status and economic development. The cities are divided

into three groups: the Asian group, the Arab group, and the African group. All megacities share

common transport and transport related issues and all suffer from extreme congestion conditions. In

addition, they are faced with serious environmental problems and low levels of liveability in the

urban environment, particularly in the central areas. All Islamic megacities have made efforts and

received help to carry out reforms and improvements in their transport systems. The level of success

also varies across cities, as well as the level of their organizational and institutional capacity to

manage their transport networks and urban development.

The literature review conducted for this project was based on a framework of 10 subject areas, in

order to better understand the lessons learned from the best practices and also the mistakes of the

developed world megacities, and at the same time to identify the most pressing problems faced by

the developed world megacities. The ten areas of the framework, which was used as a basis for the

entire report, are: transport network and land use planning, mode availability and shares, freight

and servicing, road safety, institutions and organizational structure, urban infrastructure financing,

health, climate change, social exclusion, and human dimension. An in-depth investigation of the

different aspects of each area was given for developed and developing world contexts.

In addition three case study site visits were conducted in Cairo, Jakarta and Dakar, for which a

detailed analysis of the findings is provided. Additional SWOT analyses were conducted for the

remaining five megacities of the Islamic world. The results from the literature review, the site visits

and the SWOT analyses are summarized in the last section of the report along with the

recommendations for the future.

The study concludes with concrete recommendations for the future of transport in OIC megacities. It

is stressed that an integrated approach is key for sustainable operations and that understanding the

interrelationships between the different areas analysed in the report is vital in order to develop

strategic plans for a megacity. It is suggested that the transport network needs to be coordinated

with urban transport infrastructure as well as integrated, in order not to cause fragmentation and

disrupt the quality of urban life. Land uses should be mixed as separation results in additional needs

for trips, which are necessary to be managed efficiently and effectively, particularly in cities of such

large scale. In addition, value capture mechanisms and transport oriented development are key in

order for the cities to be able to maximize the benefits derived from new infrastructure. At the same

time, the focus should shift from private motorized to mass public and non-motorized transport.


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This means that transport will be more equitable, sustainable and efficient. Freight operations also

make a vital contribution to megacities’ economies and sustainability as they account for a big part

of most of their income as well as their congestion and deterioration of urban environment.

In terms of organizational and institutional structure, most cities lack a concrete framework of

operations and management. It is suggested that central management of operations can enhance the

efficiency while it can provide a framework for collaboration with the private sector. At the same

time, financing for infrastructure is closely related to institutional arrangements and both need

flexibility and clear definition of the role of the private sector in order to succeed. Transparency is

very important in both areas as well as public communication of strategies and plans.

In terms of road safety, awareness, training and enforcement are the key areas where efforts should

focus. The impacts of transport on health are identified in air quality, low levels of physical activity

and urban heat conditions. All three areas are directly related to the use of private, and particularly

old, vehicles which should gradually be withdrawn from the cities. The impacts on climate change

can be restricted by sustainable strategies but in the case of Islamic megacities it is also stressed that

planning for resilience is also vital, as they are more vulnerable than their developed counterparts.

Finally, in terms of social exclusion and human dimension, it is considered that the social aspects and

impacts of transport should be reviewed in terms of accessibility, permeability of the urban

environment, equality and participation.

The key recommendations of this report are summarized below:

Framework area Key actions

Transport network and land use planning

Make sure transport infrastructure does not cause fragmentation of the urban environment. Plan for land use and transport integration. Promote multiple centre and multiple land use development. Support Transit Orientated Development (TOD).

Mode availability and shares

Promote Non-Motorized Transport (NMT). Promote public transport. Reduce motorization and car use using fiscal measures.

Institutional and organizational structure

Promote central management and planning of operations. Clearly define the role of the private sector.

Freight and servicing Examine particular local needs. Enhance international freight links.

Urban infrastructure financing

Seek help with monitoring and evaluation. Ensure transparency. Clearly define the role of the private sector.

Road safety Provide appropriate training and testing for drivers. Raise awareness.

Health Ban circulation and import of old vehicles. Plan for active transport. Use lighter colours in infrastructure.

Climate change Plan for resilience.

Social exclusion Plan for accessible infrastructure. Introduce flexible transport services for the elderly, women, the urban poor and people with disabilities.

Human dimension Support participation. Plan for small scale.


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Furthermore, two key priorities are identified in the case of Islamic megacities. Strengthening the

institutional and organizational structure of transport institutions and improving transport network

and land use coordination in planning. It is considered that a strong institutional and organizational

structure, and a robust transport network and land use planning are two areas to which the majority

of lessons from developed countries and cities are related. These two areas are necessary starting

points for a change in mindsets and a clear understanding of the strategic needs of cities.


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1. Introduction

1.1. Scope and Description of the Study

Since cities are locations that have a high level of accumulation and concentration of economic

activity, the most important transport problems are often related to urban areas. Recent decades

have witnessed an increasing number of attempts to manage developing cities sustainably and

provision of a balanced transport system is widely recognized as central to these actions. Urban

transport issues are of utmost importance to support passengers and freight mobility requirements

of large urban agglomerations. Transport in urban areas is highly complex because of the modes

involved, multitude of origins and destination and the amount and variety of transport modes. Cities

are also increasingly involved in trading patterns on a global scale, which makes the efficiency of

their transport systems more critical.

COMCEC has clearly recognized the fundamental role of effective and efficient transport in the OIC

megacities for the economic development of its Member Countries. One of the six cooperation areas

of COMCEC is transport and communications. Transportation is important for COMCEC to ensure

the movement of passengers and freight are integrated and facilitated among its member states. The

purpose of the study is:

To investigate the latest global megacity transport trends via a desk top literature review.

To provide an assessment of the urban transport system in three selected megacities of OIC

member states.

To identify the most pressing urban transport problems and identify those that are common

to the OIC megacities and present the results in the form of a SWOT analysis.

To identify common challenges and develop practical recommendations to overcome these

obstacles through suggesting a framework for policy actions to be implemented by the

authorities of the selected megacities.

The ultimate aim of the study is to trigger a serious debate among OIC member countries on urban

transport related issues and how to address these efficiently.

1.2. Background to Work Undertaken

A literature review, including desk research of different global megacities (both OIC and non OIC

megacities) has been undertaken based on publicly available documents. The review examined

typical issues and problems experienced by megacities including population growth, ageing

population, social and health inequality and poverty, poor air quality and pollution, accessibility

needs of different social groups (e.g. disabled, older people, unemployed, young people and those

working unsociable hours), transport availability, road safety and network constraints. The review

also considered freight and servicing issues.

The literature review also summarized the key strategies and policies that cities have applied to

solve some of the key problems and challenges. The strategies included (but not limited to); urban

growth alternatives such as smart growth policies and transit-oriented development, organization

and operation of public transport systems, investment policy in urban transport, traffic management

policy, travel demand management, intelligent transportation system applications, strengthening

traffic enforcement, building urban transport institutions, affordability of urban transport services,

and financing policy.


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The literature review paid close attention to Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) (walking and cycling)

policies as this is mostly forgotten or neglected in many discussions about urban transport strategies

in non-European countries. NMT is very often considered in relation to urban poverty. Walking and

cycling are cheap modes of transport, especially in comparison with the use of a car. After decades

of decline in walking and cycling modal shares, many cities throughout the world recognize the

advantages of walking and cycling (e.g. low use of space, CO2 neutral, contributes to a healthy life

style) and have developed cycling inclusive policies. Within an urban transport strategy, non-

motorized transport modes have often been seen as being complementary to the formalized public

transport system (as modes used before and/or after using public transport).

The results from this literature review are presented in the following sections:

Definition of what is a megacity and identification of the 7 OIC megacities.

Overview of global trends in world’s megacities.

Analyses of worldwide megacities transport problems, solutions and their critical success

factors.

This report presents the results from the work in the following Chapters:

Chapter 2 – Current state in the OIC member states

Chapter 3 – Overview of global trends

Chapter 4 – 3 OIC case studies review.

Chapter 5 – SWOT analysis of OIC megacity transport issues

Chapter 6 – Conclusions and recommendations


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2. Current State in the OIC Member States

2.1. Introduction

Over the past century, the urban population of the planet has grown rapidly. In 1900, 10% of the

world’s population lived in cities. By 2007 this percentage had increased to 50%, and it is expected

that 75% of the world population will be living in cities by 2050. Today, over half of the world’s

population (54%) lives in urban areas although there is still substantial variability in the levels of

urbanization across countries (Gehl, 2010; United Nations, 2014).

2.2. What is a Megacity?

The urban population growth of the 19th Century was fuelled more by migration from rural areas to

manufacturing centres than by absolute population growth. As a result, last decades have witnessed

the emergence of a number of megacities. The most common definition of a megacity is a city with a

population of 10 million or more. This definition is also used in the “World Urbanization Prospects:

The 2014 Revision” report published by the United Nations (2014), which is the basis for the

classification used in this report. In this report, the term urban agglomeration1 is used instead of the

term city. This term was considered appropriate for the present study as transport problems and

solutions for a city are not and should not be limited to its administrative or geographical

boundaries. Cities and megacities in particular, have significantly larger trip catchment areas

especially for commuting purposes (Schubel and Levi, 2000).

The estimates of the proportion of the population that is urban and the size of urban agglomerations

presented in “World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision” are based on national statistics.

Population censuses are the most commonly used sources of data, although estimates obtained from

population registers or administrative statistics are also incorporated for some countries. It is

recognized that there is no common global definition of what constitutes an urban settlement and

the definitions given by various national statistics offices vary widely across countries. In estimating

the proportion of urban in the World Urbanization Prospects, adjustments were made to the

national estimates only to ensure consistency of the definitions of urban settlements within

countries across time (United Nations, 2014). Table 1 below, includes a list of 28 megacities of 10

million inhabitants or more.

Table 1: Population size and ranking of urban agglomeration as of 1 July 2014

Urban Agglomeration

Country or area

Population(thousands)

Rank

Average annual rate of change (%) 2010-2015

1990 2014 2030 1990 2014 2030

Tokyo Japan 32530 37833 37190 1 1 1 0.6

Delhi India 9726 24953 36060 12 2 2 3.2

Shanghai China 7823 22991 30751 20 3 3 3.4

Cuidad de Mexico (Mexico City)

Mexico 15642 20843 23865 4 4 10 0.8

1“A large locality of a country (that is to say, a city or a town) is often part of an urban agglomeration, which comprises the city or town proper and also the suburban fringe or thickly settled territory lying outside, but adjacent to, its boundaries. The urban agglomeration is therefore not identical with the locality but is an additional geographical unit, which may include more than one locality. In some cases, a single large urban agglomeration may comprise several cities or towns and their suburban fringe” (United Nations, 2013b).


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Sao Paulo Brazil 14776 20831 23444 5 5 11 1.4

Mumbai (Bombay)

India 12436 20741 27706 23 8 5 4.6

Kinki M.M.A. (Osaka)

Japan 18389 20123 19976 2 7 13 0.8

Beijing China 6788 18591 24502 24 8 6 3.6

New York – Newark USA 16086 18591 19885 3 9 14 0.2

Al-Qahirah (Cairo)

Egypt 9892 18419 24502 11 10 8 2.1

Dhaka Bangladesh 6621 16982 27374 24 11 6 3.6

Karachi Pakistan 7147 16126 24838 22 12 7 3.3

Buenos Aires Argentina 10513 15024 16956 10 13 18 1.3

Kolkata (Calcutta)

India 10890 14766 19092 7 14 15 0.8

Istanbul Turkey 6552 13954 16694 25 15 20 2.2

Chongqing China 4011 12916 17380 43 16 17 3.4

Rio de Janeiro Brazil 9697 12825 14174 13 17 23 0.8

Manila Philippines 7973 12764 16756 19 18 19 1.7

Lagos Nigeria 4764 12614 24239 33 19 9 3.9

Los Angeles- Long Beach- Santa Ana

USA 10883 12308 13257 8 20 26 0.2

Moskva (Moscow)

Russian Federation

8987 12063 13257 8 20 26 0.2

Guangzhou, Guangdong

China 3072 11843 17574 63 22 16 5.2

Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo

3686 11116 19996 50 23 12 4.2

Tianjin China 4558 10860 14655 37 24 22 3.4

Paris France 9330 10764 11803 14 25 33 0.7

Shenzhen China 875 10680 12673 308 26 29 1.0

London United Kingdom

8054 10189 11467 18 27 36 1.2

Jakarta Indonesia 8175 10176 13812 17 28 25 1.4

Source: United Nations, 2014

2.3. OIC Megacities Examined in This Report

Keeping in mind that there are different definitions across countries, further information on

demographics was sought for two more OIC cities for which the World Urbanization Prospects

report estimates a population below 10 million; Tehran and Lahore. For Tehran the population

estimate provided by the United Nations is 8.4 million and for Lahore is 8.5 million (United Nations,

2014).

According to the Iranian Census Report for 2011, the province of Tehran had a population of 12.2

million and made up 21% of the country’s 53.6 million of urban population. This means that in the

province of Tehran 11.2 million people live in an urban environment. In addition, the average

population growth rate for the urban areas of the Tehran province is 1.7% and for the rural areas is -

1.1% (Statistical Centre of Iran, 2011). Based on this information, Tehran is considered a megacity

and will be examined in this report.


8

Given the fact that latest official population census from Pakistan dates back to 1998, other sources

were used to identify if the city of Lahore and its wider metropolitan are home to more than 10

million people who therefore affect its transport needs and patterns. None of the sources assessed

gives an estimate of more than 9 million (Shirazi and Kazmi, 2014; reliefweb, 2014) and therefore

Lahore is not considered a megacity and will not be examined in this report. Therefore, the seven

OIC megacities considered in this report are summarized in Table 2 below:

Table 2: Megacities examined in this report

Urban Agglomeration

Country or area

Population(thousands) Rank

Average annual rate of change (%) 2010-2015 1990 2014 2030 1990 2014 2030

Al-Qahirah (Cairo) Egypt 9892 18419 24502 11 10 8 2.1

Dhaka Bangladesh 6621 16982 27374 24 11 6 3.6

Karachi Pakistan 7147 16126 24838 22 12 7 3.3

Istanbul Turkey 6552 13954 16694 25 15 20 2.2

Lagos Nigeria 4764 12614 24239 33 19 9 3.9

Jakarta Indonesia 8175 10176 13812 17 28 25 1.4

Tehran Iran 6365 8353 9990 26 40 42 0.9 Source: United Nations, 2014

2.4. Overview of OIC Megacities Transport

Of the 7 megacities examined in this report one is in Africa (Lagos), one in the Arab World (Cairo)

and 5 in Asia (Istanbul, Tehran, Karachi, Dhaka and Jakarta). Cairo is the city with the largest

population, with 18.4 million, followed by Dhaka (with 17.0 million) and Karachi (with 16.1 million).

Istanbul has a population of 14.0 million, Lagos has 12.6 million and Jakarta 10.2 million. Finally, as

explained above, Tehran has a population of 8.4 million, but nearly 11 million live in its wider urban

area. Cairo is currently the 10th largest city in the world is expected to be the 8th largest by 2030, as it

grows by 2.1% annually. However, Dhaka and Karachi are growing significantly faster (3.6 and 3.3%

annually respectively) and are therefore expected to have a larger population that Cairo by 2030.

Dhaka is expected to be the 6th largest city in the world and Karachi the 7th. In addition, Lagos, which

is now the 19th largest city in the world, is expected to be the 9th largest by 2030 as its annual

average population growth rate is 3.9%.

The OIC megacities examined in this report share both differences and similarities in their

economies, cultural characteristics, institutional arrangements and, inevitably, transport problems.

To begin with, Islamic megacities borrow the characteristics of the wider area where they belong,

For example, Lagos shares common characteristics with other African cities, Cairo has common

characteristics with other Arabic cities, and Istanbul is also influenced by both Europe and Western

Asia. The geographic location of cities does not only influence their societal characteristics but also

their governance and best practice sharing. Although cities are beginning to build larger networks

and share information using information communication technologies, it is still more likely that

cities that are closer geographically will seek advice and borrow practices and policies from each

other. In addition, these elements shared between countries may not necessarily be considered

practice, with informal transport being a prominent example of shared practices (with minibuses


9

prevailing in Africa and tricycles in South Asia). The three selected case studies (Dakar for Africa,

Cairo for the Arab World, and Jakarta for Asia) will reveal these differences and similarities between

cities that belong to these three regions of the Islamic world.

In addition, the megacities examined in this report differ in terms of economic and political

development. Most of these cities saw their populations growing exponentially around and after the

1950s, primarily as a result of internal migration. Some of the cities examined in this report, such as

Istanbul and Cairo, have long histories and have been vibrant, strategically located cities for many

years. On the other hand, cities such as Lagos and Karachi mainly gained power as trade cities during

colonial times. Colonial cities also grew rapidly after independence (Nigeria gained independence in

1960 and Pakistan in 1947) but at the same time had to go through the political transition from the

colonial era. In both cases, transport systems in these cities had to cope with rapidly rising demand

while they were not expanded accordingly. At the same time, transport institutions in these cities

had limited capacity to manage the demand as well as plan and implement strategies to alleviate the

mounting problems. In addition, the lack of coordination between land use and transport planning

resulted in heavy concentration of economic activities in the central business areas of the cities,

leading to even worse traffic conditions, limited accessibility and deterioration of the urban

environment.

While demand for transport constantly grew, few people were able to afford private cars. Despite the

fact that the modal share of private cars remains low in OIC megacities, they occupy the largest part

of streets causing congestion, accidents and environmental pollution. At the same time, public, as

well as non-motorized transport, are often unable to meet the mobility needs of the citizens.

Although the availability of public transport systems differs significantly between OIC megacities,

congestion is a common problem. Some of the cities examined in this report are or have been among

the most congested cities in the world (Istanbul, Dhaka) or are among those with the poorest air

quality conditions (Karachi). The wider impact of congestion is not limited to air pollution, economic

losses and accidents but is also contributing and increasing the cities’ vulnerability to climate

change, causing long term health problems to the population, increasing the levels of social

exclusion, and causing a general deterioration of the urban environment which loses its human

dimension and offers fewer opportunities for human interaction.

However, it should be noted that many OIC megacities have taken significant steps in order to battle

congestion, solve transport problems and improve the urban environment. For example, Istanbul is

working towards becoming a multimodal city, and Tehran has gained worldwide recognition for its

efforts to improve its traffic conditions. Most cities have managed to implement successful plans

with the support of Multilateral Development Banks and Multilateral Financial Institutions such as

the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Islamic Development Bank.

Different financing mechanisms have been used in different countries and cases while except for

funding, support mechanisms also include management, monitoring and evaluation services as well

as capacity building. The ultimate purpose of such mechanisms is to leave the cities with useful

lessons and frameworks on which new plans can be based, along with sustainable, integrated

infrastructure.

At the same time OIC megacities are making efforts to maintain their cultural and regional identity

while improving urban transport and quality of life. It is often the case that infrastructure and policy

programmes introduced as part of economic development strategies do not take into account all

local needs. Mega infrastructure projects are a very characteristic example of interventions that give


10

little attention to the needs of local people, often causing fragmentation of the local environment and

radically reducing the accessibility for non-motorized modes. Such projects undoubtedly increase

the accessibility to certain areas of the cities (usually the Central Business Districts) and for certain

modes and people (private motorized vehicles and those who need to access specific areas) but fail

to provide wider social benefits. Istanbul and Tehran have taken significant steps to improve

affordable public transport integrated with interventions for non-motorized modes by introducing

Bus Rapid Systems and restricting the access of private cars to key urban areas. Such interventions

help citizens remain in close contact with the city and each other and as result strengthen the social

sustainability and cultural cohesion of the megacities.

All OIC megacities examined in this report have recognized the importance of urban transport for

achieving sustainability and viability. Efforts to improve transport availability and quality vary

across the megacities in terms of scale and success. Some of the OIC megacities have cooperated with

other megacities in order to learn from their policies and plans (for example, Tehran has put forward

its Bus Rapid Transit plans after a visit in Bogota, Colombia) while others have implemented locally

driven successful plans (for example, Istanbul has improved and expanded its tram network using its

pre-war network as a backbone). It is considered that all megacities have the potential to make

significant improvements in their transport systems and become best practice examples for other

cities in both the developing and the developed world. This report analyses the status of seven OIC

megacities as well as Dakar, and identifies their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in

order to conclude with recommendations for the future, specifically adjusted to the needs of these

cities.


11

3. Overview of Global Trends in World’s Megacities

3.1. Introduction

Size confers undeniable advantages in cities. The concentration of wealth means concentration of

employment opportunities, investments, markets forces and opportunities for networking.

Furthermore, the availability of public infrastructure and systems to deliver social services can

achieve significant efficiencies of scale, and larger cities can have increased capacities to stimulate

creativity, innovation and economic development. Big cities are also places of dynamic social

interaction and cultural expression that shape the identity of urban life and make it recognizable by

its inhabitants and its visitors (Schubel and Levi, 2000).

However, the rapid growth of urban populations is a catalyst for many problems and challenges. In

less developed cities in particular, the increasing pressure for housing has resulted in the spread of

large informal housing areas that are densely populated, primitively constructed and often lack all

forms of basic services. The pressure on cities also leads to overpopulation of existing housing areas,

overpowers utilities and transport networks and public spaces. Although each city has its own

characteristics and deserves separate, in-depth analysis, there are some common problems

identified in all large cities and megacities (Gehl, 2010).

Congestion is one of the problems found in all megacities, regardless of their economic status or

their urban structure. As a result, the accompanying externalities of congestion (e.g. accidents, travel

time losses and pollution) are on the top of the list of issues to be addressed in all megacities. It is

argued here that congestion is always the result of a series of unsustainable land-use, transport and

social practices combined and not simply a problem in itself. Therefore, we suggest that transport

related issues should always be analysed and addressed taking into account the wider context rather

than in isolation.

Probably the most important contextual factor that determines the nature and the extent of

transport related issues is the level of economic development of a city and a country. There is a

fundamental difference between the priorities in high income cities where the main concerns are

over the levels of pollution and consumption related burdens, and those in low income cities, where

the main issues are more short term and health related. The challenges for low income cities are

even greater as they have other pressing issues to address such as the provision of clean water and

electricity, waste management and sanitation (Banister, 2011).

In terms of the megacities of developed countries, despite the differences that are found between

them, a common characteristic they all share is that, to a degree, they have all started with an

automobile oriented culture which they are now trying to curb using policies to limit private car

usage and ownership levels. From the compact central network and high public transport mobility in

London to low network densities and automobile oriented culture in Los Angeles, these cities are

trying to make a shift towards more sustainable mobility. A variety of measures is employed in these

cities’ transport plans that aim to promote modal shift, reduce travelled distances, improve

efficiency of transport and reduce the need to travel (Banister, 2008).

However, despite the progress developed countries make in reducing the impacts of transport on the

environment and in optimizing operations to achieve economic and social benefits, studies have

shown that their global contribution to the reduction of environmental impacts of transport can only

be limited. For example, in terms of reducing CO2 emissions, it has been estimated that the maximum


12

possible contribution technological innovation in the UK transport sector can make would be about

21 Megatons Carbon (MtC) until 2030. This is about half the levels required to achieve a 60%

reduction, equivalent to the targets set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

over the longer period to 2050 (Banister, 2011).

If developing countries continue to follow the same unsustainable paths, any improvement made by

developing countries will soon be eclipsed by rapidly growing economies such as India, China and

Brazil. Some positive suggestions have been made regarding the potential of developing economies

to decouple transport usage from economic growth, given the rise of a service economy based upon

information technologies. By extension, developing countries can potentially leap frog past transport

intensive stages of economic growth and proceed directly into a new, less vehicle dependent

transport paradigm. However, in reality, developing economies are showing little evidence in the

projected trends for anything other than continued motorization (Cervero, 2013; Wight and Fulton,

2005).

The imperative need for economic development of the cities in developing economies is currently

taking precedence over any other environmental or social need in most developing world countries.

The increasing number of trips to new workplaces, the rapid urban growth and the large

concentrations of urban population pose significant pressure to the existing transport infrastructure

in these megacities. Cars and motorcycles are grid-locked in traffic and travel times increase for

everyone, along with associated problems with noise, air pollution and traffic accidents. Congestion

costs in developing countries are tremendous. In addition, the dramatic development of traffic has

had a significant effect on opportunities for expression and life quality of large groups of population,

especially the economically poorest (Gehl, 2010).

In most developing world cities, the inefficient use of scarce urban space by private vehicles

outpaces the provision of road infrastructure or public transit alternatives. Traditionally, walking

and cycling have played a great role in the mobility of low income population groups, while public

transport is typically weakly developed and expensive. Increasing levels of motorization

dramatically reduce the opportunities for walking and cycling, and while some groups become more

mobile, even larger groups find themselves less mobile and in some cases without any real transport

options. This provides a particular challenge for developing cities and poses the extraordinary

tensions on the local governments that need to address all these issues using scarce resources (Gehl,

2010).

3.2. Analysis of Transport Problems in Megacities

Understanding the key role transport is playing in an urban environment and the interaction

between mobility, accessibility and almost every urban function is vital in order to formulate an

effective strategy. This report examines the common transport related problems of megacities and

their roots, and provides examples of best practice that could be applicable in OIC megacities. The

analysis of the problems is made using a framework of ten areas which will be used throughout the

report. These areas are: transport network and land use planning, mode availability and shares,

freight and servicing, road safety, institutions and organizational structure, urban infrastructure

financing, health, climate change, social exclusion, and human dimension. An in-depth investigation

of the different aspects of each area is given for developed and developing world contexts. Although

the framework is made up often parts it is stressed that effective planning for sustainable mobility

requires a coordinated approach that combines different measures and the engagement of key


13

stakeholders, so that they understand the reasoning behind different policy initiatives and support

their introduction (Banister, 2008).

The case studies are presented independently in the text, as it is suggested that the best practice

always follows a multidisciplinary approach that treats transport as part of the complex urban

dynamics and not in isolation.

It is noted that reference is also made to cities with populations less than 10 million when it is

considered that despite the difference in population size, valuable lessons can be learned and

successful practices can be applied to a bigger scale.

3.3. Transport Network and Land Use Planning

The importance of coordination between land use and transport planning has been extensively

analysed in academic literature and research as a key to sustainable urban development. Given the

strong interrelationship between urban form and transport, the integration of land use and

transport planning represents a unique policy opportunity. On the one hand, the provision of

transport infrastructure plays a critical role in forming the long term shape and character of a city

and any stage of its development along with the citizens’ mobility patterns and modal choices. On the

other hand, land use planning and effective management of urban growth are essential to promoting

compact and sustainable urban development. A planning approach that engages both with existing

flows and urban form can contribute to identifying how best to sequence, coordinate and integrate

various infrastructure investments with land use development, which in turn will determine the

city’s energy efficiency, economic performance and competitiveness in the long term (Banister,

2008; Cervero, 2013; Gehl, 2010; Rode et al, 2014).

The transport network and land use patterns of the megacities in the developed and developing

world differ significantly, mainly as a result of their political and economic history. The cities of the

developed world have generally enjoyed longer periods of economic and political stability allowing

coordination between urban expansion and infrastructure but also the establishment of

unsustainable mobility patterns and an automobile culture. On the other hand, most megacities of

the developing world started to expand in terms of size and economic capabilities after 1950. Until

1950, 10 of the 15 largest cities were in the developed world. This number fell to 6 in 1990 and

today only 3 cities are in the developed world (UN, 2014b). While there are certain exceptions, rapid

urbanization has resulted in huge investment demand for infrastructure and other services which is

beyond the capacity of developing countries. In addition, the high urbanization rates are putting

much strain on the institutional capacity of these countries given that governance structures take

some time to evolve before they are able to deal with the consequences of such rapid growth

(Newman and Kenworthy, 1996; Morichi, 2005).

3.3.1. Transport network and infrastructure

The type and scale of urban transport infrastructure critically determines the mobility patterns

within a city and is one of the most important factors affecting modal choice, especially in the long

term. This section provides an overview of the reasons that have led to the current form of urban

transport infrastructure for all modes in developed and developing countries and an overview of

how the current capacity can be managed and changed in order to achieve efficiency and

sustainability in urban mobility.


14

3.3.1.1. Transport network and infrastructure of megacities in developed countries

After World War II, most cities in the developed world adopted a “predict and provide” approach in

transport planning. Conventional transport analysis has been based on the premise that travel is a

cost and travel times should be as short as possible. The continuous provision of new infrastructure

to meet the projected traffic growth led to the occupation of large sections of the urban area by

highways, and the destruction natural environments and food producing areas. Although urban

growth inevitably leads to such results, roads have been built and widened as a measure to reduce

congestion, save fuel and reduce emissions. On the other hand, public and non-motorized transport

infrastructure has been widely neglected in a planning process optimized for automobile centred

mobility (Banister, 2008; Kenworthy, 2006).

Although part of the academic community argues that automobile oriented planning is deeply

embedded in urban governance structures), a shift towards sustainable transport infrastructure

planning is being observed in many cities around the world. To begin with, a growing amount of

evidence and research on persisting congestion in urban areas has shown that traffic can be induced

by additional infrastructure. Completely new trips that have never been predicted are generated

when new road facilities become available. In addition, the focus on travel time savings changes as

new technology allows much greater travel time flexibility, including mobile working. Travel can be

replaced by more “at home” activities such as working from home, shopping and booking holidays.

As such the key policy objective now becomes that of reasonable and reliable travel time, rather than

travel time minimization (Low and Astle, 2009; Banister, 2008).

Various policies to manage the existing network capacity have been applied across the world, with

different levels of success. Regulatory policy instruments have played an important role in shaping

urban transport performance. Measures to manage car use and optimize the use of the existing

network capacity commonly include parking restrictions, emissions standards and driving

restrictions. Although such measures theoretically cover a wide range of objectives including

improving air quality, reducing congestion and increasing the efficiency of network utilization, many

case studies show that regulatory measures alone often fail to fulfil their potential.

3.3.1.2. Transport network and infrastructure of megacities in developing countries

In developing countries, the monocentric form of street design and planning that characterized

many cities in the colonial era started to change in the 20th century and accelerated with the

independence of countries from the 1950s onwards. Street designs became more irregular following

the peripherisation of urban growth and the displacement of poorer groups to the outskirts of cities.

The levels of road infrastructure vary among countries of the developing world, reflecting to a large

extent the economic status of each country. Less than 10% of land area is devoted to roads in many

cities of Africa, South and Southeast Asia (e.g. Nairobi, Kolkata, and Jakarta) compared to 15-20% in

many rapidly emerging economies (e.g. Seoul and Sao Paulo), 20-25% in much of the continental

Europe (e.g. London and Paris) and 35% or more in America’s largest automobile oriented cities (e.g.

Houston and Atlanta). However, the biggest problem for developing countries is that the

infrastructure provision and its development are inconsistent with the growth in traffic volumes. In

India, the annual traffic growth rate in the 1990s was around 5% in Mumbai, 7% in Chennai and

10% in Delhi despite the fact that these cities only expanded their network by 1% (United Nations,

2013a; Cervero, 2013).

In the countries with the lowest levels of road network development, except for the lack of road

capacity, another major issue is the lack of road hierarchy that allows for efficient traffic flows from


15

local streets to distributor/collectors and to main arterials. For instance, Nairobi, Kenya, a city of 4

million inhabitants, has few collector streets and major through roads compared to similar sized

developed cities. In addition, the city’s arterial roads are mostly radial and the lack of circumferential

roads brings heavy amounts of traffic through the central business district with significant effects on

traffic flows. The situation is similar in Lome, Togo, a city of nearly 1.5 million (INSSED-Togo, 2015),

where the trucks leaving the port are directed into the core of the city in the absence of bypass road

around the city (Cervero, 2013).

Another crucial problem in developing countries is the lack of maintenance of existing transport

infrastructure, which is being neglected in favour of starting new, highly visible projects. According

to the World Bank, the fact that many countries tend to favour new construction, rehabilitation, or

reconstruction over maintenance has led to a steady increase in the parts of the network that need

to be repaired and a loss of development impact. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, for every

kilometre of road rehabilitated, an estimated three kilometres of road fall into disrepair, leading to a

net deterioration in the total road network. In a rapidly growing urban environment, the condition of

the poorly maintained road network is aggravated by a high number of vehicles using the network

and particularly heavy trucks as wear and tear exponentially rises with the dead axle weight of a

vehicle. In turn, poorly maintained streets slow trucks more than lighter vehicles, which results in

increased vehicle operating costs and has an overall effect on congestion (Rioja, 2003; Burningham

and Stankevich, 2005; Cervero, 2013).

However, the need for additional, key infrastructure in the cities and megacities of the developing

world is not always addressed using what is considered best practice. On the contrary, in many

cases, the adopted solutions involve increasing the capacity of the network and the provision of

parking spaces. This poses a huge burden on public administrations to finance and build urban

infrastructure including roads, transit systems, and utilities such as water, sewerage and electricity.

It is estimated that under a Business As Usual (BAU) scenario, India’s urban growth alone will

require almost 600 billion USD of investment by 2030, including 2.5 billion square meters of roads

and 7,400 km of metros and subways. This is 20 times the capacity added in the past decade (Rode

et al, 2014).

Alternatively, more cost effective forms of urban development which actively prioritize compact

urban growth, affordable mass transit and high levels of non-motorized transport use could bring

significant benefits to the current and future megacities of the developing world. Existing evidence

suggests that key urban infrastructure, particularly linear and networked infrastructures such as

streets, railways and other utilities, comes at a considerably lower cost per unit when the levels of

urban density are higher. For example, the World Bank suggests that more compact city

development in China could save up to 1.4 billion USD in infrastructure spending, equivalent to 15%

of the country’s GDP in 2013 (Rode et al 2014).

Within urban transport infrastructure provision, considerable capital cost savings can be generated

as a result of a shift away from private car infrastructure towards public transport, walking and

cycling. Furthermore, innovative urban transport systems such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) offer

significant cost savings compared to traditional metro and regional rail at similar capacity levels. For

example, Bogota’s TransMilenio BRT infrastructure had a capital cost of 5.8 million USD per km (or

0.34 USD per passenger), compared with estimates for metro rail of 101 million USD per km (or 2.36

USD per passenger) over three years. In addition, maintenance costs, which are frequently


16

underrepresented within major infrastructure cost appraisals, are substantially lower on a per

capita basis for affordable mass transit and non-motorized transport (Rode et al, 2014).

The operational costs of urban transport are also directly informed by urban form characteristics,

with sprawling urban development leading to higher costs and greater capital requirements relative

to higher density development. Low density urban development increases costs for both private and

public motorized transport, but it also undermines the viability of public transport provision for

which cost efficient operation is only possible above certain threshold density levels. Similarly, non-

motorized transport essentially relies on threshold densities. As a result, higher density cities have

greater opportunities for cost efficient transport provision (Rode et al, 2014).

3.3.2. Land use and urban form

3.3.2.1. Introduction

The physical separation of activities in an urban environment inevitably leads to longer distances

travelled (Figure 1). Coordinated transport and land use planning allows authorities to build

sustainable mobility into the patterns of urban form and layouts, which may in turn lead to a switch

to green modes of transport. Policies that can contribute to the reduction of distances travelled

include increasing densities and concentration through mixed use development, housing location,

design of buildings, space and route layouts, public transport oriented development and transport

development areas, car free development and establishing size thresholds for the availability of

services and facilities. It is estimated that the timescale over which sustainable mobility might be

realized is similar to the turnover of the building stock (about 2% per annum), but decisions on the

location of new housing can have dramatic effects over the lifetime of housing (Banister, 2008).

Figure 1: Relationship between transport and land use

Source: Rodrigue et al, 2013


17

3.3.2.2. Land use and urban form of megacities in developed countries

The combination of the features of 20th century modernism and rise of the automobile before and

mostly after World War II created some distinct, particularly unsustainable urban land use patterns

in many of the cities of the developed world. On the one hand, the urban planning ideology of

modernism introduced separation of the uses of the city and emphasized free standing individual

buildings that did not relate an urban context, a history or a local community. On the other hand, as

automobile technology developed, it made it possible for a city to develop in any direction and at

lower densities. In addition, as a reaction to the industrial city, town planning began separating

functions by zoning, followed by decentralization and dispersion of the city (Gehl, 2010; Jacobs,

1961; Newman and Kenworthy, 1996).

Relatively different patterns are observed between American and Australian, and European cities.

Many cities in Europe, such as Stockholm, managed to maintain a transit, and non-motorized

transport oriented urban core. Car based suburbs and villages on the fringe are also a common

European feature, for example in many cities in the UK, Oslo and Frankfurt. On the other hand,

Australian and North American cities like Canberra and Phoenix have grown exclusively along with

the rise of the automobile. Their automobile based, low density suburbs became a normal living

environment for their citizens who largely had not been in contact with other styles of urban

development. However, suburbs that were beyond a distance of 50 km from the city centre became

inevitably isolated from traditional urban functions as the levels of traffic increased and the benefits

of automobile decreased (Newman and Kenworthy, 1996).

A departure from automobile oriented and modernist planning practices has been observed over the

past two decades. Smart growth and compact city development have gained wide policy interest in

North America, Europe and Australia. Valuable progress has been made in spatial planning aiming to

reverse the unsustainable mobility patterns of the past. The new mobility paradigm suggests that

land-use development, including planning and regulations, needs to be integrated, so that physical

restraint measures and development patterns are used to support shorter travel distances.

Improved levels of proximity are considered to reduce distance travelled, and to contribute to trip

reduction and modal split changes (Cervero, 2013; Banister, 2008).

More specifically, experience in urban planning has shown that successful measures include

minimum density standards, mixed use regulation and a density bonus for developers. Such

measures support compact city development with a hierarchy of higher density and mixed use

clusters around public transport nodes. A further key priority for compact city policy is reforming

inappropriate building density limitations. Similarly, shifting from minimum to maximum parking

requirements for urban development facilitates compaction and lower levels of car use. District level

interventions, combined with the redistribution of road space away from private vehicles, have been

proven successful in promoting modal shift and sustainable mobility. Furthermore, human scale

urban design considerations require a shift away from road capacity oriented street planning to a

focus on finer urban fabric, including smaller block sizes, higher building densities and mixed use to

facilitate micro accessibility, last mile connectivity, walkability and social interaction (Rode et al,

2014).

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is a term that describes “the process of focusing the

development of housing, employment, activity sites and public services around existing or new railway

stations and transit interchange nodes served by frequent, high quality and efficient intra-urban

services” (Knowles, 2012, pg. 251). TOD has been an important part of broader smart growth


18

strategies applied in the United States and some large Asian cities, including Hong Kong, Singapore

and Tokyo. The benefits of TOD involve variety of mobility choices, increased public safety, increased

transit ridership, reduction of private vehicle miles travelled, increased savings for households,

reduction of air pollution and energy consumption rates, conservation of land resources and open

space, reduction of infrastructure costs, contribution to an increase in provision of affordable

housing and contribution to economic development. Research has also specifically focused on the

relationship between transit and commercial land and housing values. In general, such it is

suggested that although singular measures, such as transit based housing or transit adjacent

employment centres, are not influential enough in isolation, TOD can be more effective when it

includes a mixture of uses and is supported by coordinated policy measures (Knowles, 2012; Hess

and Lombardi, 2004).

Nonetheless, despite the fact that the economic, social and climate change case for limiting car

dependency and urban sprawl is strong, there are potential negative trade-offs related to industry

sectors that are traditionally highly dependent on the BAU urbanization model. More specifically,

business models and key business actors in the automotive, construction and real estate sectors

have proven resistant to change to date. In addition, strong consumer preferences relating to car

ownership and suburban lifestyles remain. Switching urban patterns in many existing cities are high,

particularly in urban areas that have already developed low density and car oriented housing.

Finally, a range of institutional and process barriers also exist. Policy integration across urban

planning, design and transport planning is often compromised by inflexible governance structures

(Rode et al, 2014).

3.3.2.3. Land use and urban form of megacities in developing countries

The megacities of the developed and the developing world mainly differ in terms of primacy, levels

of monocentricity, population densities, roadway designs, and geographic locations of the poor.

Although it is considered that the concept of single centred cities is becoming less relevant with the

growth of megacities, as they are rapidly developing as polycentric urban agglomerations, often

absorbing other smaller cities in the process, lack of planning and separation of activities significant

deteriorate accessibility and quality levels (Banister, 2011; Cervero, 2013).

Megacities of the developing world tend to have more primacy with big cities having

disproportionally higher numbers of inhabitants as well as high paying jobs. The concentration of

national wealth in capital cities such as Jakarta, Lagos or Dakar also means concentration of private

vehicles and transport infrastructure. In addition, megacities serve as a gateway for international

linkages and are the often the prime receivers of funding for infrastructure improvements. In a self-

reinforcing circle, the concentration of capital in megacities has attracted foreign and local

investments that produced more jobs that continue to attract more workers from rural areas.

Besides primacy, many developing cities have a monocentric urban form. In many African and South

American cities for example, a third or more of formal jobs are concentrated in the urban core,

considerably above what is found in most American and European metropolitan areas. Large

concentrations of population, employment, economic activity and services inevitably lead to high

traffic densities and comparatively longer trips by public transport (Cervero, 2013).

High primacy and monocentricity mean economies that accrue from concentration and

agglomeration can quickly become diseconomies. While urban agglomerations yield economic

benefits by allowing job specialisation, efficient market transactions and knowledge spillovers, if

concentrated growth is not well planned then over the time these benefits erode. Agglomeration


19

diseconomies can be expressed in the form of lost labour productivity from traffic congestion,

worsening air pollution that threatens public health, and an overall decline in the quality of urban

life. For example, overconcentration of activities has been blamed for Beijing’s deteriorating traffic

conditions and environmental pollution. The lack of distinct suburban clusters of mixed land uses

has undermined the ability to introduce cost effective, high capacity transit services, leading to high

car use and vehicle kilometres travelled per capita (Cervero, 2013).

Cities in developing countries are generally more than twice as dense as those in Europe and five

times as dense as in bigger countries like the United States and Australia. Within developing

countries urban densities vary considerably. Densities in Asia and African cities are considerable

higher than in Latin America. Dhaka is by far the world’s most densely populated city with nearly

35,000 inhabitants per km2. However, despite the fact that developing countries are comparatively

denser than the developed ones, their density gradients have been flattening at a faster rate. The

historically dense developing world big cities are now mimicking the sprawling patterns of their

developed countries as the levels of motorization increase, following the increase in income levels,

and eliminate the need to live in tight quarters in order to be close to everyday activities. The link

between rising wealth and decentralized growth is more pronounced in Asian megacities, which are

more rapidly motorizing and spreading outward (Cervero, 2013).

Except for population growth, class segregation and poverty can also stretch the boundaries of a city.

In Greater Cairo and Mexico City, sprawl is fuelled mostly by informal housing and slums2 while in

the outskirts of Mumbai and Delhi new towns and employment sub centres are occupying once rural

land. Favelas (slums) mark the peripheries of most Latin American cities as places of last resort.

However, in many cases, housing policies have exacerbated the isolation of the poorest groups from

employment and the lack of coordination between land use and transport planning. For example,

low cost and isolated housing projects in the outskirts of Mexico City were built and either left

unoccupied or abandoned between 2006 and 2009 because of their poor access to jobs, schools and

social activities. In addition, the World Bank estimates that limitations on building densities in

Bangalore have led to urban sprawl which causes welfare losses of 2 - 3% of household income.

Finally, it is considered that the sprawl of Chinese megacities is partly induced by local government

policies that allow municipalities to buy land at low prices, add infrastructure and services and then

lease it to developers at much lower prices (Rode et al, 2014; Cervero, 2013).

3.4. Mode Availability and Shares

There is a great variety in the mobility patterns encountered in different cities across the world,

primarily in terms of mode choice and trip lengths. This is the case even among cities of similar

levels of wealth, indicating that socioeconomic factors are only one among several determining

factors. The differences in contemporary urban mobility are largely determined by the relationship

between land use and transport. At the same time, this relationship is not isolated from broader

trends within and across different urban transport modes. Most significantly the rapidly accelerating

2 According to the definition of UN-HABITAT, a slum household is “a group of individuals living under the same roof in an urban area who lack one or more of the following:

1. Durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions, 2. Sufficient living space which means not more than three people sharing the same room, 3. Easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price, 4. Access to adequate sanitation in the form of a private or public toilet shared by a reasonable number of

people, and 5. Security of tenure that prevents forced evictions” (UN-HABITAT, 2006, pg. 1).


20

global levels of motorization in the last five decades and the substantial shift away from non-

motorized transport (Rode et al, 2014).

In the analysis provided here, three main categories of urban travel are differentiated: private

motorized, public and non-motorized transport. For each mode the current trends are examined

both in developed and developing contexts. Finally, measures focused on each mode are analysed

and it is explained how current unsustainable modal splits can change in order to achieve

sustainable urban mobility.

3.4.1. Private motorized transport

3.4.1.1. Private motorized transport in megacities in developed countries

Over the past 50 years, private motorized transport has grown rapidly in cities around the world.

Between 1960 and 2010, the number of registered cars worldwide increased more than sevenfold,

from nearly 100 million to over 700 million, while the number of registered trucks and buses

increased more than tenfold, from nearly 30 million to over 300 million. By 2010, the total number

of registered motor vehicles (excluding two-wheelers) in the world was equal to 1 billion. In

absolute terms and in spite of the stabilizing growth rates in private vehicles, developed countries

still have the highest number of passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants (Rode et al, 2014).

However, as urban networks reach saturation and the contribution of automobile to the

deteriorating quality of urban life becomes clear, restrictive policies for vehicles become more

popular. Despite the global trend towards increasing motorization, new and alternative patterns of

transport planning have emerged in recent years, and several cities have increased their share of

public and non-motorized transport and reduced car ownership. For example, between 2000 and

2010 levels of car ownership in New York, London and Berlin have been declining. There is evidence

that shows that although the correlation between wealth and car ownership at a country level is

very clear, there is a less clear relationships for cities above a wealth level of 20,000 USD/capita

(Rode et al, 2014).

Fiscal policies

Various policy measures have been implemented in developed countries in order to reduce the use

and the impacts of motorization. To begin with, effective fiscal policy is considered a key tool for

delivering equitable and sustainable urban mobility. Fiscal instruments are used widely in the

transport sector in order to manage the total transport demand, shift users from private cars to

public and non-motorized transport, improve the performance of sustainable modes and collect the

necessary funds in order to shift cities away from carbon and resource intensive mobility patterns.

The rationale of fiscal policies is to internalize the external costs of transport (congestion,

environmental costs and accidents). In relation to private motorized vehicles, fiscal policies can be

applied to vehicle purchase, circulation and use. Vehicle purchase taxes and circulation charges such

as registration or road tax can be applied differentially to meet a range of policy objectives, and may

be used to influence both aggregate demand for vehicle ownership and vehicle choice. Fiscal policies

can also be targeted at improving overall fuel efficiency and emissions standards, and key

performance drivers such as vehicle size and weight, engine size, engine technology and fuel type

(Rode et al, 2014).

However, the single most important fiscal instrument related to vehicle use is fuel charging.

Transport fuel taxation has historically been a key part of government fiscal policy due to its


21

characteristics as a stable, dependable revenue source that is easily administered, and typically has

progressive characteristics. In addition, it is also now widely recognized as a key mechanism to

facilitate the internalization of external costs imposed by vehicle use, manage total transport

demand, influence vehicle and modal choice, and promote urban densification. However, direct

subsidies continue to be issued by many governments, facilitating the widespread use of automobile

and rendering other modes financially non-viable (Rode et al, 2014).

Except for measures that apply at national level, city specific measures for managing vehicle use

include road pricing, parking charges and other user fees. For example, Singapore, London and

Stockholm have successfully implemented congestion charging schemes, leading to a reduction in

emissions and congestion while generating increased revenues for transport investment. To be most

effective, fiscal instruments need to be designed and implemented at a system level, and coordinated

with institutional and regulatory measures. For example, simulations of policy combinations

involving increasing car operating costs by 75% and decreasing public transport fares by 50% for

seven European cities, supported by improved land use policies and improvements in public

transport functioning, have demonstrated clear synergy effects of coordinating private vehicle and

public transport pricing policies (Rode et al, 2014).

Alternative technologies

The role of technology is also important and it has the potential to improve the efficiency of

transport operations, reduce the impact of automobile use and promote behavioural change.

Technological change is expected to play an increasingly significant role in the reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions. Technology based mobility innovations in cities may include the

introduction of new technology, the innovative use of existing technology and infrastructure or a

combination of both. Regulatory interventions such as emission or fuel consumption standards have

been proved highly effective in triggering substantial technological innovation. In many instances,

they have also increased the global competitiveness of vehicle manufacturers that were exposed to

more stringent regulation. In terms of vehicle technology, innovations in engine and fuel

technologies, digitization and materials have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of

motorized vehicles in cities (Rode et al, 2014). A summary of the most common alternative fuels and

vehicle technologies is provided in Table 3.

Table 3: Summary of common alternative fuels and vehicle technologies

Description Advantages Disadvantages

Internal combustion engine vehicles can be modified to use bio fuels which are liquid transport fuels produced from recycled vegetable oils or starch and sugar plants.

• As the plants grow, they take up CO2, which is then released back into the atmosphere when the fuel is burned • Political interest is growing and the sugar industry is well placed to benefit from ‘carbon finance’

• Additional energy input is required to process the fuel • Energy yields vary with crop. For example, yields from rapeseed and wheat are an order of magnitude lower than sugar cane • Increases in world population will place more demand on food production than bio fuel from agricultural land • Bio fuels are more expensive than conventional fuels and they need to be heavily subsidized


22

Internal combustion engine vehicles can alternatively be modified to use gaseous fuels such as Auto gas or Liquid Petroleum Gas (stored in compressed or liquefied form).

•One of the most inexpensive fuels available • CO2 emissions can be reduced by around 30% • Potential to extract the gas from landfill or water/sewage treatment

• Most gaseous fuels are still derived from fossil fuels

Fuel cell electric vehicles make use of hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. Most hydrogen is presently formed from the stream reformation of methane, a process by which the hydrogen atoms are separated from the carbon atoms along with emissions of CO2. Reformation can take place either on a vehicle using a portable reformer or could be installed as part of a hydrogen infrastructure allowing vehicles to refuel with pure hydrogen.

• A high quality energy carrier which can be readily converted into electricity • Hydrogen from electrolysis is a sustainable fuel where the only emission is pure water, addressing not only greenhouse gas emissions but also air and noise pollution • Hydrogen has the greatest potential emission reductions of any alternative fuel • Proven popular with niche applications such as the urban bus market

• Does not occur naturally and needs to be liberated from chemical compounds • Additional energy is required for electrolysis • Electrolysis is currently not very efficient and just 51% of the energy is actually utilised after losses. • Although hydrogen is light, it is bulky making it expensive to transport, store and distribute • Requires a specialist infrastructure

Battery powered electric vehicles that also use fuel cells to convert chemical energy into electrical energy, where the electricity producing reactants are supplied from an external source.

• Zero emissions at source •Electric motors increase efficiency by 20% by using a direct connection to the wheels and therefore use no power when the car is at rest or coasting • Additional energy production can be derived from regenerative breaking •90% efficient compared to 25% of traditional internal combustion engines •Fuel cells are continually improving, e.g. low cost lithium ion batteries

• The size of the fuel cells adds to the weight of the vehicle and constrains the performance of the vehicle in terms of maximum speeds and the distance vehicles can travel before requiring recharging • No storage system is capable of providing driving ranges comparable to those of conventional vehicles • The source of energy used for recharging is unlikely to be zero carbon unless it is produced from renewables or nuclear

Hybrid electric vehicles provide an intermittent step between the internal combustion engine and the electric motor. An energy management system is used to optimise the fuel economy of both engines because electric and combustion engines work better under different driving situations.

• Provides the advantages of electric propulsion without the need for fuel cells. Electricity is created with on board generators or recovered from braking • An intermittent technology that can easily be adopted

• Technology still reliant on the internal combustion engine • Expensive, although grants are often available to help with the purchase but these rarely cover the higher costs involved

Source: Chapman, 2007


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It is noted however, that the contribution of technological innovation to urban sustainability through

changes in the use of automobile has also been widely criticized. Technological innovation is often

undermined by the increased use of cars while diesel engines continue to increase their market

share. Ultimately, the take-up of alternative fuels is hampered by oil prices. Whilst oil remains

affordable, alternative fuels are viewed as expensive and unnecessary, often requiring government

subsidies. At the same time, estimates from the IPCC suggest that even with current technologies,

carbon emissions per vehicle kilometre could be reduced by 30–50% between 2010 and 2030

through energy efficiency and performance improvements. In addition, transport policies that have

been widely supporting technological innovation for vehicles and fuels as they only cause a minor

disruption to the current unsustainable mobility practices and sustain current market forces.

Therefore, beyond simply introducing cutting edge technologies to cities, it is the rate of innovatively

adopting and scaling technologies, combined with a broader sociotechnical transition, which

determines whether or not development pathways can be sustainably transformed (Chapman, 2007;

Schwanen et al, 2011; Rode et al, 2014).

3.4.1.2. Private motorized transport in megacities in developing countries

While car ownership levels are approaching saturation in developed economies, motorization

continues to grow in developing countries. By 2050, the number of motor vehicles worldwide is

projected to reach 2.6 billion, the majority of which is expected to be found in developing countries,

especially China, India and other Asian countries. In some rapidly emerging economies like India, the

number of trucks, cars and motor scooters added to city streets each year is growing at more than

20% annually (Cervero, 2013).

The combination of rapid motorization, rising incomes, urban sprawl, undeveloped road systems

and spatial mismatches have given a rise to the world’s worst traffic conditions in cities of the

developing world. Time losses from traffic congestion account for 2% of the GDP in Europe and 2-

5% in Asia while the externalities of traffic congestion in Metro Manila, Dakar and Abidjan have been

estimated at nearly 5% of those cities’ GDPs (Cervero, 2013).

Income inequality plays a significant role in changes in motorization levels. Although a positive

relationship between inequality and car ownership is currently observed, it can inverse as countries

develop and overall incomes rise. In poor countries with unequal distribution of wealth, as income

grows the poor may still not be able to reach a certain minimum level of income that is necessary to

buy and maintain a car. However, in countries with more evenly distributed income levels and larger

middle income class, benefits accrue broadly across the population of commuters, pushing the bulk

of the middle class into cars. For example, low income countries with high levels of inequality such

as Bolivia have higher car ownership levels than more equal low income countries such as the

Philippines. However, for middle income countries this trend changes and more equal countries such

as Russia have higher car ownership levels than middle income, unequal countries such as Colombia

(Kutzbach, 2010).

Although vehicle ownership rates in developing nations are low compared to wealthy ones, they lead

to far worse traffic congestion and air pollution due to the lack of appropriate regulation,

infrastructure and traffic management. There are nine cars per 1000 people in China, compared with

700 per 1000 in the United States and 500 per 1000 in Western Europe. In addition, extreme

congestion conditions are common despite the modal share of private vehicles. For example, in

China, 50% of all urban trips are made by public transport and another 40% are made by walking


24

and cycling. In Delhi, only 5 % of total trips are taken by car, while 15% are by motorcycle, 42% on

public transport, and 39% by walking (Ng and Schipper, 2005; Badami et al., 2004).

Particularly in Asian megacities, rapid motorization is mainly characterized by an increase in

number of motorcycles and scooters, which are the dominant modes of transport. Besides

deteriorating congestion, they can be exceedingly loud, contribute to traffic accidents, take over

sidewalks, and when powered by two stroke engines, they have significantly worse tailpipe

emissions than private cars or a four stroke engine. The rapid increase of the number of motorcycles

in Asia is mainly triggered by the unreliable public transport system. This opportunity is well taken

by finance companies as with a small amount of money as down payment, people can already have a

motorcycle on the same day. This leads to further low demand for public transport and NMT

(Cervero, 2013).

Motorization is raising environmental justice concerns also because of the growing international

trade of old second hand vehicles from developed to developing countries. In many African

countries, import liberalization policies from the 1990s made it easier and cheaper for households to

buy second hand vehicles shipped across the Mediterranean Sea from Europe, ending up in big cities

like Dakar and Lagos. Restrictive regulations on the circulation of old vehicles and the import of old

vehicles are gradually being introduced in various countries in order to control their impacts on air

quality and safety. For example, Senegal banned the import of vehicles older than five years in 2001

in an effort to improve the safety and air quality levels, especially in urban areas. However, such

regulations are not always successful; as import restrictions are not always enforced and very old

continue to circulate especially when they are based in rural areas (Diakhate, 2007; Cervero, 2013).

Policy interventions aiming to reduce congestion in megacities have often been focused only on cars

and have failed as they lack a global perspective of the problem. An example of such policies is the

even odd days driving scheme applied in Latin America cities, such as Mexico City, Lima and Bogota,

according to which, vehicles with license plates ending in odd numbers cannot be operated on

certain days, and vehicles with even numbers cannot operate on other days. In the medium term,

this measure spurred travellers to purchase second, alternate day cars in order to be able to drive

every day of the week. The failure of automobile focused policies can also be attributed to the fact

that cars are primarily owned by high income citizens who can afford to pay additional costs in

order to continue driving and are unlikely to shift to other modes. On the other hand, success stories

like that of transport oriented development in Curitiba, Brazil involve coordinated, proactive action

and strong political leadership and citizen engagement even before the explosion of middle class

motorization (Kutzbach, 2011).

Different regulatory measures have been applied in many Chinese cities that have started to limit the

total number of privately owned vehicles through restrictions on the number of license plates issued

per month, with Shanghai beginning to control the growth of private vehicle registrations as early as

1994 which is one of the reasons behind the city’s considerably lower vehicle stock compared to

Beijing (Rode et al, 2014).


25

For further information see Appendix-1-Transport Oriented Development and Public Transport

Planning in Hong Kong and Singapore: Lessons on integration, regulation and car ownership

restriction

3.4.2. Public transport

3.4.2.1. Public transport of megacities in developed countries

Despite the significantly different modal shares of public transport in different megacities of the

developed world (93% in Hong Kong, compared to only 12% in Los Angeles) it is considered that the

systems are already well developed in terms of quality. The policies that are employed in public

transport cities oriented like London are focused on employing Information and Communications

Technology (ICT) in order to make transport systems smarter, on providing specific improvements

that will improve the quality of service and customer satisfaction, and on reducing the

environmental impacts of public transport vehicles.

The majority of developed world’s megacities have multimodal public transport systems. Although

multimodality offers improved services and geographical coverage, it requires ticketing integration

in order to offer a convenient passenger experience and lower costs. In addition, integration

between different operators is also a key and more challenging issue for the transport authorities of

the developed world megacities. Although cities like Tokyo have proven that high public transport

shares can be achieved without any integration, other cities like London and New York have adopted

integrated or partially integrated ticketing in order to offer seamless trips to their passengers and

lower costs. The case of London shows the challenges of integrating different modes and operators

and the importance of having a single organization managing the transport operations in a city.

London is one of the very few cities in the UK that have the authority to manage all operations in the

city. Transport for London (TfL) is responsible for all land and river transport in the city of London.

TfL signs concessionary agreements with operators and therefore requires same standards of

service for all services running in the city, such as ticketing and fare standards and real time

information equipment on buses. An integrated ticketing system using electronic ticketing

technology (the Oyster Card) was first launched in 2003 and is being continuously upgraded with

new features.

Another major challenge for the public transport systems of the megacities of the developed world is

the lack of capacity, particularly during peak hours. Extremely crowded services during peak hours

are the norm in Tokyo, New York and London. Various efforts to manage capacity and two areas of

contemporary technological innovation have made a significant contribution to the public transport

sector: digitization and electrification. Over the last decade ICT has, for example, considerably

Best practice case study: Transport Oriented Development and Public Transport Planning in

Hong Kong and Singapore: Lessons on integration, regulation and car ownership restriction

Singapore and Hong Kong are both very successful examples of TOD, which was mainly driven by the

lack of appropriate land for development. Although none of the OIC megacities is constrained in

terms of space in the same way Hong Kong and Singapore are, the cities still provide valuable lessons

on integrated planning, car ownership restrictions and regulation of different modes. The primary

difference between the two cities is the level of public participation on operations. The comparison

with Tokyo, the world’s biggest megacity and a pioneer in TOD, provides valuable lessons on the long

terms impacts of TOD and public transport oriented planning.


26

changed ticketing for public transport with contactless payment through smart cards. 90% of bus

passengers and 75% of subway passengers use smart cards to board buses, subways or taxis in

Seoul, offering convenience and reduced travel costs (Rode et al, 2014).

ICT also facilitates the management of public transport capacity by improving the quality of services

or reducing the need to travel by providing the opportunity to work, shop or perform other activities

from home. In addition, the wide availability of open and big data further allow for crowd sourced

information to update network maps, offer real time transport information and improve service

quality. The most important recent enabler for enhancing mobility systems in cities for individual

users has been a combination of smart phone technologies and geopositioning systems. Smart phone

penetration has reached 72% in the United States, 71% in China and 49% in Thailand. Today, well

over 70% of Londoners regularly use smart phone travel applications and more than 40 million

travel information requests by smart phones are registered every month in Sydney (Rode et al,

2014).

However, efforts to manage capacity and reduce the need to travel alone may not always be

sufficient to meet the demand levels of growing megacities. In these cases, additional infrastructure

to improve capacity comes at very high costs. Additional capacity of road infrastructure is very

expensive due to high costs of land in urban and metropolitan areas, while underground or over

ground projects are expensive due to the level of technological expertise they require. A recent

example of such an expansion is the Cross rail project in London. Cross rail is an underground train

connecting central London to the South East of England, serving major employment areas in central

London. Cross rail will run over 100 km and will have 40 stations dramatically improving the quality

of transport in London and increasing the capacity of the network by 10%. Cross rail is currently the

biggest construction project in Europe and it is expected that the central section of Cross rail will

start operating in 2018 followed by a phased introduction of services along the rest of the Cross rail

route over several months (Cross rail, 2015).

3.4.2.2. Public transport of megacities in developing countries

Today, in the megacities of the developing world, the large concentrations of population and the lack

of available funds make it very difficult for local governments to respond to the growing demand.

This leads to dangerously overcrowded public transport which is primarily buses moving slowly and

inefficiently within the extreme traffic conditions. This section provides an overview of how public

transport in developing countries has evolved, the current issues regarding the management and

regulation of the formal and informal sector and the newest trends in public transport provision.

In most developing countries, public transport of the post-colonial period operated as a national

monopoly while in socialist economies, nationally owned public sector monopolies were also the

rule. Today, in most countries the monopoly systems have collapsed and have been replaced by

smaller, privately owned companies operating under permissions granted by the municipal

authorities. China and a few major cities in India and Eastern Europe are exceptions where

traditional public operators dominate. Despite the differences in the way the public transport system

evolved in each country, there are many common characteristics in the processes of public transport

decline. In many cases, governments have attempted to use the public transport industry as an

instrument of social policy by simultaneously constraining fare levels and structures, and by

guaranteeing favourable wages and working conditions to employees. Eventually, the mounting

deficits and the absence of a secure fiscal basis for subsidy resulted in the deterioration of

maintenance, service reliability and operating capacity (World Bank, 2002).


27

According to the World Bank (2002) the replacement of public sector monopolies with well

managed competitive regimes can be of great benefit to the poor of the developing world cities.

Examples from the industrialized world (such as in London, Copenhagen and Stockholm) show that

competition can drop the costs per unit of output while maintaining the service levels. It is crucial to

choose a competitive regime appropriate to the objectives of the procuring authority, the nature of

the system being managed (particularly in terms of size and number of modes), the potential

strength of competition in the supply market, and the administrative capability of the procuring

authority. It is also important to make sure that the competition model that is adopted is well

adapted to the local circumstances. Reforms to existing systems may take time and require

progressive refinement as well as key institutional requirements. Political supervision of public

transport separated from professional management and restructuring of existing institutions in a

form conducive to competition are critical in order to succeed (World Bank, 2002).

The lack of adequate regulation and management structures leads to the inevitable emergence of

informal transport, also referred as Paratransit, which aims to cover the gap of provision and offer

more flexible and affordable options against the fixed route gridlocked formal public transport.

Informal services can be those operating without appropriate licenses, permits provide collective

ride services to the public or registration papers from public authorities. They are usually minibuses,

vans, taxis, station wagons, three-wheelers, and motorcycles that operate illicitly. However, this does

not mean that they are always operating illegally, as in many countries the entry to the public

transport sector is effectively free, with operators subject only to the general rules of the road and

law of the land. Informal services are not always operating completely independently since many

informal sector operators are members of bars or associations (Cervero and Golub, 2007; World

Bank, 2002; Cervero, 2013).

Paratransit modal shares generally rise as per capita incomes fall but they can perform different

roles. In Africa informal services are dominant mode of public transport for the poor, as they can

substitute the failed formal public transport provision without need for subsidies. In East and South

Asia, and to some extent in Latin America, Paratransit complements the formal sector, providing

differentiated services in identified niche markets as it responds quickly to shifting market demands

resulting from rapid urbanization. In other parts of Latin America, it increasingly competes directly

with the traditional suppliers either by duplicating franchised services or by quality differentiation

(World Bank, 2002; Cervero and Golub, 2007).

There are a number of common characteristics typical of Paratransit services, although not

necessarily applicable in all cases. To begin with, the vehicles operated are typically small including

motorcycles, as it easier to finance and because controls over small vehicles are more lax, even in

situations where the entry of large vehicles to the public transport market is strictly controlled. In

addition, in the absence of official licensing, operators often fail to meet the official requirements of

driver and vehicle standards and they are not properly insured. The vehicles used are also often very

simple, including in many cases non-motorized vehicles. Finally, Paratransit often operates outside

the tax system or benefits from favourable treatment of the non-corporate sector. It may also have

an advantage in competition with public transport operators, with costs inflated by minimum wage

regulations, strict working hour requirements, neglect, and corruption (Cervero and Golub, 2007;

World Bank, 2002).

Despite the fact that the informal transport sector is seen as a nuisance by national and municipal

transport authorities, it provides significant benefits to urban populations. Paratransit is an


28

important entry point to urban employment. For example, in many Asian cities, it is estimated that

over 15% of the population is dependent directly or indirectly on the informal transport sector for

their livelihood. In Dhaka, this proportion had been estimated at over 25%. The services the sector

offers are also valuable. Except for being the mode of transport of the poor, provided by the poor, it

can also provide high-quality services to wealthier citizens. Manila is a megacity where both services

are provided as there is a “down market” of Jeepneys but also and “up market” of FX mini vans.

Finally, Paratransit services offer high levels of responsiveness to customers’ needs by providing

access to poor areas, direct routing, direct routing, speed and flexibility of service (World Bank,

2002; Cervero and Golub, 2007).

Despite their advantages, paratransit operations also cause significant problems in urban

environments. The main negative characteristics of informal transport are the dangerous on road

behaviour of the drivers, the pollution and congestion caused by the vehicles and the fact that they

undermine the formal services. In addition, scheduling is often erratic, with high frequencies and

overlapping services during peak hours and low or absent services during off peak hours. It is also

common that when operators are wholly dependent on ridership and often have to fight for waiting

passengers at bus stops and in terminals. Paratransit vehicles are often involved in accidents as

drivers can stop almost anywhere to board passengers and they lack appropriate training, they

allow inappropriate loadings, and the vehicles are poorly maintained. These defects are frequently

exploited by vested interests. For example, police and other public officials may take advantage of

the quasi-legal nature of the sector to supplement their incomes (World Bank, 2002; Cervero and

Golub, 2007).

Problems related to illegal transport provision are not always very high in the social priority list as

megacities in the developing world are faced with pressing problems related to housing, child

hunger, and crime. Nonetheless, there are various examples of efforts made by local authorities in

megacities to regulate Paratransit services, with different levels of success. It is suggested that, given

the importance of Paratransit both as an income generator and as a service provider to the poor,

attempting to eliminate it by administrative action could generate significant unrest. For example,

when in 1999 the authorities of Sao Paulo tried to control the informal public transport sector, roads

were blocked and 24 formal sector large vehicles were destroyed in a period of three months.

Governments should examine why the informal sector exists, and then try to identify a regulatory

and administrative framework within which the potential of the sector can be mobilized and

developed (World Bank, 2002; Cervero and Golub, 2007).

A number of different approaches have been adopted to overcome the problems associated with

paratransit by providing the informal operators with security in terms of field of operation and

future revenues in order to ensure their commitment of capital and quality of service on their side.

Several countries allow free access in certain specialized markets such as the local feeder buses in

Seoul and the air conditioned services in Dhaka. However, this approach has not been particularly

successful as it tends to be limited to niche markets. The most common practice in the bus sector has

been found in the form of medium-term route franchise contract preferably competitively tendered.

Franchising is often combined with giving the operators the freedom to establish association in

order to be able to provide high frequency services on routes requiring a large number of vehicles. In

addition, in order to avoid the emergence of cartels, local authorities in Buenos Aires ensured that

route franchises granted to specific associations overlapped, so that there was a degree of

competition on the road. However, it is note that the ultimate objective of regulation should not be to


29

maintain a highly fragmented bus industry but to encourage structures on which competition can be

based (World Bank, 2002).

Despite the pronounced financing and management problems, public transport conditions in

developing countries have been improving steadily in the recent years. The emergence of the Bus

Rapid System (BRT) in Curitiba, Brazil in 1974 and introduction of TransMillenio, the BRT system of

Bogota, Colombia in the late 1990s, have led the way for many cities across the developing world to

adopt this revolutionary mode. Currently, BRT investments are found in 160 cities worldwide and at

least as many cities are at various stages of planning, designing or investing in new systems.

According to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) that specializes in BRT

practice, on average, BRT systems can be built in a fraction of the time of light rail, and BRT can cost

30 times less to construct and 3 times less to operate. The main advantage of BRT is that it offers

high quality, reliable and quick transport for low income groups. Most BRT projects are pro-poor

and trying to improve the accessibility levels of previously excluded groups. Megacities offer the

additional advantage of high levels of demand to support the operations of mass transit system

(ITDP, 2015; Cervero, 2013).

However, this does not always make a significant difference to the traffic conditions as even when

the system is operating over capacity, the users are often previous public transport users who

shifted from traditional buses to the BRT. For example, TransJakarta, the BRT system of Jakarta,

Indonesia has not alleviated the congestion in the city, despite the yearly increase in ridership.

Almost 70% of the riders were former commuters on the regular bus system and only 14% used a

private car. In addition, the bus system was only built to accommodate only two-thirds of the total

demand, resulting in heavy crowding. Logistical issues, involving the design of the boarding ramps

and buses as well as the lack of feeder buses, also hamper the effectiveness of this system (Hook and

Ernst, 2005).

High-end bus rapid transit's main advantage over comparable modes like light rail and metro rail are

its routing flexibility and cost (and implementation speed) advantages. BRT allows for far more

routing flexibility than rail because of buses' fundamental nature. Unlike trains, buses can jump on

and off their "tracks" (bus ways), thus combining feeder and line-haul functions in one vehicle. For

example, a bus can pick up suburban commuters in their neighbourhoods, enter a bus way leading

into an urban downtown, then leave the bus way and circulate on downtown streets. This trip would

otherwise require two transfers (suburban commuters driving or taking a feeder bus to a suburban

rail station, travelling to the downtown, then transferring to a city bus, metro rail system, or taxi)

(Tri-State Transportation Campaign, 2015).

Furthermore, BRT can generally be constructed at less cost than rail systems. The average capital

costs are $7-55 million per mile for BRT systems using bus ways compared to $12.4-118.8 million

per mile for light rail (Tri-State Transportation Campaign, 2015).

Compared to rail, BRT may have to face the problem of image. In some communities, buses are

viewed negatively as dirty, slow, or only for people without other transportation options (depending

on the quality of existing bus service, these perceptions may be justified). In these places, "selling"

BRT may require a branding campaign which clearly separates BRT from traditional bus service. Of

course, in the long run it is a BRT system's quality of service which will separate it from regular bus

service (Tri-State Transportation Campaign, 2015).


30

BRT's other disadvantage is that it has less carrying capacity than metro and commuter rail; it has

comparable capacity to light rail. Whether higher-capacity modes can be cost-justified depends on

the land use patterns of a given area. In suburban areas like the Hudson Valley, ridership on a

flexible BRT system will likely be higher than on a fixed-route light or commuter rail system, even if

commuter rail can theoretically carry more passengers (Tri-State Transportation Campaign, 2015).

The largest articulated BRT buses still carry fewer passengers than individual light and heavy rail

trains, so to provide the same amount of service as a rail system, a BRT system may have higher

labour needs but provide more frequent service. For example, a light rail system may run a 500-

passenger train every 10 minutes, while a BRT system may run a 200-passenger bus every four

minutes to provide the same amount of service (Tri-State Transportation Campaign, 2015).

Lower-end BRT using on-street bus lanes and/or signal priority should be considered as a

replacement for (and an upgrade from) high-volume regular bus routes. The advantages are self-

evident: faster travel and increased ridership. BRT conversions may face political opposition if a

parking or traffic lane is taken for buses, so planners should ensure that a BRT conversion will

indeed result in noticeable improvements (Tri-State Transportation Campaign, 2015).

While some critics have argued that bus rapid transit is less energy efficient than rail transit, the

available evidence is mixed. A study of German cities estimated that bus transit was 4 times as

energy efficient as car travel, while light and metro rail was 2.5 times as efficient as car travel (per

passenger-kilometre). By contrast, a U.S. study found that the average train trip was 8.4% more

efficient than the average bus trip, and 16.3% more efficient than the average automobile trip (Tri-

State Transportation Campaign, 2015).

The large discrepancies in existing studies may exist because transit energy efficiency depends on

many variables, including the level of congestion in an area, how heavily used a transit system is, and

the differences between various bus and train models. For example, a significant portion of New

York City's public bus fleet is diesel-electric hybrid. Because both rail and bus transit are more fuel-

efficient than cars, the relevant question is not which mode is theoretically more efficient but which

mode or combination of modes will best divert automobile users to transit (Tri-State Transportation

Campaign, 2015).

For further information see Appendix-2-Public Transport, Land Use Planning and Social Innovation:

The Case of Curitiba, Brazil.

Best practice case study: Public Transport, Land Use Planning and Social Innovation: the case of

Curitiba, Brazil

Curitiba is a leading example and a pioneer in BRT systems. Many of the OIC megacities examined in

this report already have a BRT system and others are examining the option of adopting one. The

lessons to be learned from Curitiba are not only related to the benefits of the system itself but also to

the wider urban, social and transport strategies adopted in the city. Curitiba has proven that public

transport can be the backbone of all operations in a city, not only transport. From social accessibility

and green spaces to economic growth, Curitiba provides valuable lessons for cities of all sizes and

economic status.


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3.4.3. Non-motorized transport (NMT)

3.4.3.1. NMT of megacities in developed countries

The two main modes of NMT, walking and cycling, provide significant environmental benefits for the

urban environment and also are a very good form of physical exercise. NMT has been recognized in

many cities across the world as the best opportunity to reduce private vehicle use in the urban

environment. Walking and cycling are the most efficient and sustainable means of making short

trips, as they do not generate air pollution, greenhouse gases, or noise pollution. It is generally

accepted that the number of pedestrians and cyclists in the cities of the developed world depends on

the extent to which people are invited to walk or cycle and is not generated by necessity. In many

cities, walking and cycling maintain high modal shares, regardless of the topographical and weather

conditions. Integration between different modes and equal rights for all road users to safely choose

the mode they wish, provide an essential base for the success of transport policies (Gehl, 2010).

In terms of walking, research has shown that it is highly dependent of the urban design, the

connectivity of pedestrian routes, the obstacles encountered on their way, the interaction with the

crowd and other modes, and even the quality of the pavements. The architectural characteristics of a

city play a significant role in improving the pedestrian experience. At the same time, the interaction

of pedestrians with other modes at pedestrian crossings, exit of stations and shared spaces needs to

be carefully planned in order to cater for the free movement of slower modes. Stairs and steps, multi

stage pedestrian crossings, underpasses and footbridges are generally considered among the most

uninviting pedestrian features (Gehl, 2010).

The distance that pedestrians are most commonly willing to walk is 500m. The majority of the city

centres in the developed world are covering an area of one square kilometre which means that a

walk of a kilometre or less will bring pedestrians to most of the centres of a city. Megacities have

corresponding patterns, as they are divided into numerous centres and districts. The acceptable

walking distance does not change because the city is larger.

Although cycling can be considered a rapid form of walking as an experience in the urban

environment, it requires higher level of design and planning integration than walking. This is the

reason why, in developed and car dominated cities, cycling modal shares range between 1 and 2% is

dominated by cycling enthusiasts, mostly male and young. This is the reason why there are few

examples of cycling cities, primarily concentrated in Europe. For example, Copenhagen is an example

of a city with a longstanding cycling tradition. During the oil crisis of the 1970s, Copenhagen adopted

a clearly defined cycling approach in transport planning and kept car traffic at low levels ever since.

Key actions that Copenhagen and other cycling cities have taken include building an extensive and

seamless network of dedicated cycling lanes, and integration of cycling with other modes such as

trains, subways and even taxis with dedicated spaces for bikes on trains or vehicles, and parking

spaces at stations and terminal points. Safety is also a prerequisite for the widespread take up of

cycling, especially at intersections, where cyclists interact with other traffic. Intersections in

Copenhagen have special light signals for bikes, which typically give a green light to bicycle traffic six

seconds before cars.

Bicycle sharing programmes are also widespread in many cities and megacities of the developed

world. There are different levels of take up depending on the cycling culture of each city. In

traditionally cycling cities, cycle ownership is already high and therefore sharing schemes are

targeted to new cyclists, visitors or tourists. On the other hand, in cities like Paris, where the cycling


32

is not so widespread, shared bikes are mostly used by locals and the schemes make part of efforts to

build and reinforce the cycling culture of citizens.

Other efforts to promote both walking and cycling in cities include educational campaigns in schools

and open streets only for walking and cycling on Sundays. The latter is in fact not limited to

developed world cities as the idea of closing streets to traffic once a week has been popular in Latin

American cities for years. An example of a megacity that has recently made coordinated efforts to

increase the share of cycling is New York City, which planned in 2007 the construction of 3,000km of

cycling lanes in all five of its boroughs. The city also introduced ‘summer streets’ dedicated to NMT

on Saturdays during the summer months. It is expected that, in the future, concerns about

sustainability will lead more developed world megacities to increase their efforts to develop

stronger cycling cultures (Gehl, 2010).

For more information on see Appendix-3 - Cycling in the Netherlands: Lessons Learned from

Integrated Environmental, Urban and Transport Planning

3.4.3.2. NMT of megacities in developing countries

In the developing world megacities, non-motorized modes are often associated with poverty.

Although in many developing countries cycling is also considered a leisure activity, particularly for

the middle class, there are large parts of the population that rely completely on NMT for their

mobility. Walking is very often the only mode of transport for the very poor. The accessibility levels

and the quality of walking and cycling environment are significantly reduced by increasing

motorization that is taking over the footways and deteriorates air quality and safety in megacities.

Official planning for NMT is often completely absent, which means that even efforts to improve other

modes are failing to achieve their full potential as it becomes increasingly difficult to undertake

connecting walking or cycling trips in the cities. In addition, the forms of NMT in developing world

megacities are not limited only to walking and cycling but also include animal and human drawn

vehicles and various forms of non-motorized rickshaws and taxis. This usually creates a varied mix

of modes on the streets which reduces the efficiency of the traffic and also proves that planning

should cater for non-motorized modes to the same extent as for motorized.

Historically, developing cities often had a richer diversity of land uses and a more walkable urban

environment than their developed counterparts. Lax or non-existent land use regulations have

favoured an organic pattern of mixed land use in many developing cities. However, studies have

shown that the influence of dense and mixed land uses on residents’ mobility patterns is not as

strong as the design attributes of a neighbourhood, such as street connectivity and sidewalk

Best practice case study: Cycling in the Netherlands: Lessons learned from integrated environmental, urban and transport planning The Netherlands is probably the leading country in planning for cycling and integrating cycling policies in wider transport strategies. The OIC megacities can borrow from the Netherlands low cost infrastructure, safety, and promotion policies that can be adapted to the local physical and socio-cultural environment. The comparison with Rio de Janeiro proves that best practice can be shared with big success. In the case of cycling, integration and consistency in planning across years and different local governments are probably the biggest success factors. As promoting NMT does not entirely depend on infrastructure (for example, Amsterdam has a lower total length of dedicated cycle lanes than Santiago, Chile), political commitment and public support can provide a sufficient basis for building strong cycling cultures.


33

provision. Expanded, improved and upgraded pathways and streets are often important parts of

slum upgrading programmes. It is also suggested that smaller city blocks can also encourage foot

travel in developing cities. In Ahmedabad, the modal share of walking trips for neighbourhoods with

an average block size of 4 hectares was 13%, compared to 36% for otherwise similar

neighbourhoods with an average block size of 1.2 hectares. Another study found that in Shanghai,

residents who lived in areas with smaller blocks and denser road networks averaged around half the

car ownership levels as those living in more car oriented, superblock districts (Cervero, 2013).

In addition, NMT is critical for the economic functioning of developing world cities and particularly

for the urban poor as walking and cycling are often the only modes of transport they can afford. In

African cities, a third of all trips are walking trips while in places like Dakar and Douala this share is

much higher, over 60%. Cycling often represents a trade up from walking. In many of the developing

countries only middle income households can afford bicycles. Unlike in developed countries, walking

and cycling are less often associated with pleasure or exercise. In total, NMT accounts for between

40 and 60% of all trips in several major cities while in poorer cities in Africa this proportion is even

higher. Modal share studies in developing countries have shown that NMT is embedded in the

mobility patterns of people across all ages as its share of each age cohort correlates closely with its

share in total mobility (World Bank, 2002).

Despite the fact that the traditional functions and shape of the cities in the developing world could

have favoured NMT oriented transport and land use planning policies, the political attitudes towards

pedestrians and cyclists have been neglectful or even negative. Pedestrian space is continuously

being eroded. Footways either do not exist or they are occupied by street vendors, parked cars,

motorcycles, and bicycles. Even in cities like Dakar, where walking has a high modal share, the lack

of pedestrian infrastructure and the poorly connected streets make it difficult to undertake long

walking trips. As city authorities find it difficult to manage and control street market, pedestrian and

cycling activities, the trend has been to eliminate them altogether, rather than taking a functional

approach to road hierarchy, whereby the functions of some roads could be for pedestrians and

market activities and not for fast flowing motor vehicle traffic. In addition, policies introducing

reductions in the number of non-motorized vehicles and movement restrictions have often been

adopted as viable solutions to reduce traffic congestion and the consumption of fuel. For example,

restrictions on NMT were one of the main initiatives taken in 2002 by the government of Bangladesh

in order to improve air quality in Dhaka (World Bank, 2002; Alam and Rabbani, 2007; Diakhate,

2007; Cervero, 2013).

Various complex reasons can be identified behind the lack of official interest in planning for NMT. To

begin with, there is often a lack of interest by engineers who favour the dealing with more

technically challenging road and bridge design. At the same time, there is often lack of transport

planning and design skills in order to apply large scale NTM solutions appropriate for the large

volumes of NMT trips in developing world megacities. Local initiative to promote NMT may also be

limited by the lack of funding from central governments. In addition, it is often difficult for the police

to focus the enforcement of NMT routes and on the lack of respect of cyclists for traffic regulations.

Finally, car and motorcycle users seem to have a vested interest in reducing the nuisance caused by

slow moving NMT (World Bank, 2002).

On the other hand, there are also major limitations that prevent citizens from the choosing or

continue using NMT. Safety and security concerns and air pollution caused by motorized transport

are the most important reasons that render NMT non-viable in many of the megacities of the


34

developing world. As a result, people shift to public or private motorized transport or become less

mobile, a choice that not only has significant impacts on the economies of households but also on the

economies of agglomerations.

Sociocultural conventions are also an important factor affecting NMT use. Walking is in most cases

not associated with status as, regardless of their income, everyone walks for short trips or for the

last leg of multimodal trips. On the other hand, cycling is often associated with poverty, while the car

is a status symbol. For example, results from a study carried out in Cairo showed that a considerable

number of Egyptians, especially academics and students, approved of cycling in theory but would

not choose to switch to it, partially because of the social stigma. In accordance to social norms,

cycling can be acceptable for youth and leisure but not for commuting or as a conscious choice of

transport mode. Gender specific norms and conventions also pose restrictions to use of NMT,

particularly by women. Cycling is often culturally unacceptable for women as the exposure of the

female body by moving is considered inappropriate. In addition, women who cycle may often face

verbal and physical harassment. It is noted however, that women are usually taking more complex

and shorter trips than men, and they could benefit from the flexibility and reliability offered by

cycling (Peters, 2002; Aichinger and Reinbacher, 2010).

In most developing countries NMT has developed spontaneously and remains largely outside the

normal processes of transport planning. Provision for NMT, when constructed, seems to be

retrofitted to existing infrastructure, and to concentrate on minimizing the disturbance that it causes

to the flow of motorized traffic. This often results in the construction of expensive and often

inconvenient infrastructure for NMT, such as open pedestrian footbridges for crossing busy roads. In

this case, it is generally considered best practice that in order to retrofit NMT in what was originally

designed for motorized transport, it is necessary to also modify the existing elements. For example,

some level of traffic calming and reduction in speed differentiation between motorized and non-

motorized traffic is necessary when a new cycle lane is introduced on an existing road (World Bank,

2002).

Integration of NMT with urban design and other modes is considered essential for the success of

urban transport strategies. The ability to take seamless and efficient trips in the urban environment

is heavily dependent on NMT and particularly on walking as most trips involve at lease a short leg

carried out on foot. In addition, similar to policies aimed at promoting public transport, those

promoting NMT should focus on showing that NMT is for all citizens, regardless of their economic

status. Because of the nature and the scale of non-motorized trips, the involvement of civil society in

promoting NMT and reclaiming the road space from cars is considered to be a critical success factor.

User and stakeholder participation can improve decisions by exploiting local knowledge and desires,

and spotting and solving potential problems, as well as by smoothing the execution of public sector

interventions, especially when accessibility and safety problems are urgent (World Bank, 2002).

3.5. Freight and Servicing

3.5.1. Introduction

Today’s megacities have traditionally been centres of trade and continue to concentrate a great

amount of trade activity, both national and international. Both in developed and the developing

world, megacities are regional, national and international multimodal trade hubs. As cities grow,

their economic activities and consumption patterns typically become larger, more intense and more

complex. As one outcome of the urban development process, more goods need to be delivered into


35

cities to satisfy consumption needs of growing urban populations. Megacities have made some

successful efforts to decouple economic growth from passenger transport but they seem to lag

behind in the goods transport sector. At the same time, even though urban freight vehicles make up a

small share of all vehicle traffic, they generate a disproportionate share of several externalities, such

as congestion on local streets and highways, infrastructure damage, pollution, greenhouse gases, and

noise (Blanco, 2014).

3.5.2. Freight and servicing of megacities in developed countries

Based on data from developed urban areas, a city generates about 300 to 400 truck trips per 1000

people per day, and each person consumes about 30 to 50 tons of goods every year. This translates

into increased freight activity and increased use of road space and infrastructure. Urban freight

takes up 10-35% of the total distance travelled on city streets and 3-5% of urban land. Sustainable

urban planning poses limitations to traditional urban freight operations, which means that there is a

need for significant changes in the urban logistics sector (Blanco, 2014).

First, the densification of urban centres, focus on public transport and the reduction of road and

parking areas is in conflict with the traditional approach to urban freight that it makes economic

sense to consolidate goods and multiple operations and goods in one large area and make deliveries

with large capacity vehicles. As urban density increases and road networks are constrained, logistics

facilities decentralize. Urban logistics centres move further away from the cores of the cities. In

Paris, parcel and express transport companies, on average, located their terminals 6.8 miles farther

away from their geographic centroid in 2010 than in 1975, while businesses and shops have only

moved 1.8 miles away during the same period while consumers and products continue to live inside

the urban areas (Blanco, 2014).

Second, it is extremely difficult to find uniform regulatory solutions for urban freight as there is a

huge diversity in the urban freight needs from one economic sector to another and across urban

areas. Such diversity also poses difficulties to identifying common technologies or transferring

knowledge between metropolitan areas. Combined with a fragmentation of the actors often involved

in policy making in cities and metropolitan areas, such as planning agencies, port operators or

transit authorities, decision making crosses multiple jurisdictional barriers. Finally, the urban freight

sector is only the last (or first) mile of a much larger supply chain that expands beyond the borders

of the urban area, into regional, national and global economies. This larger geographical span makes

supply chains flexible to adapt to various policies and therefore increases the uncertainty of long

term impacts on the city and commencement to urban plans (Blanco, 2014).

Successful strategies on megacities of the developed world show that in order to shape an effective

and efficient urban freight strategy it is necessary to take into account all the levels of the urban

freight system, starting from the delivery and pick up, to the routes and distribution network and

facilities available, the urban logistics system and the actors involved, the urban economy, and finally

to the national and international supply chains. A more comprehensive framework of the urban

freight system is needed to further understand why policies are more or less effective, but most

importantly, to adapt them to a wider set of cities (Blanco, 2014).

For example, off hour deliveries, traffic regulations and port gate pricing, tackle the delivery and pick

up operations. They focus on influencing the interaction between the driver and the customer. The

interventions are simple (e.g. establishing loading/unloading zone) but due to the large amount of


36

actors affected they require extensive communication. For example, TfL continuously creates

pamphlets and guides to educate and influence delivery and pick up activities (Blanco, 2014).

Low emission zones (LEZ) and road pricing, directly affect last mile operations3. They often face

resistance since they require the redesign of distribution networks from all affected private actors,

contracts between them and start involving managers that do not have direct interaction with the

urban context beyond its market potential. Their outcome is uncertain and they are slower to design

and implement (Blanco, 2014).

Voluntary programs, at the city or at ports and airports, aim at engaging multiple stakeholders

operating in an urban area, and drive change in hundreds of logistics systems without affecting the

urban economy. They are often precursors to specific policies (such as LEZ) and try to recognize the

diversity of the supply chains involved. They require long term commitment from all actors and

require strong institutional support and public private partnerships (Blanco, 2014).

It is important to highlight that some of the more commonly discussed policies such as restrictive

traffic and parking regulations, although effective to certain degrees, have proven difficult to scale

due to the complexity of strict enforcement, but most importantly, because cities have no control

over the demand of pickups and deliveries. Ultimately, shippers, drivers and customers, find a way

to circumvent the restriction by other means with worse consequences (e.g. use of private vehicles,

double parking). Another popular academic recommendation is consolidation and integrated city

logistics planning. These aims at reducing truck traffic by combining pickups and deliveries from

various companies serving the same area. Due to the multiple actors required these are often

successful at small scale, at the private level or as part of larger voluntary programs (Blanco, 2014).

For more information on see Appendix-4- Sustainable Urban Freight Operations, Better Air Quality

and Safety in London

3.5.3. Freight and servicing of megacities in developing countries

Dense city areas in developing countries have limited or no space for road capacity expansion, as the

land uses have developed organically over time and are potentially incompatible with logistics

demands. In addition, disorganized population growth has created considerable challenges for the

free flow of vehicle, people and the distribution of goods into and out of these cities. Thus, urban

freight is often seen as a nuisance from the public perspective. Authorities, often fail in their urban

planning processes because they lack the appropriate planning knowledge and tools for such a

network but also because they do not consider every actor’s viewpoint and focus only on regulatory

rules or urban mobility or companies (Vieira et al, 2015; Blanco, 2014).

3The execution and coordination of the routing and the delivery/pick up across a city is often referred to as “last mile” operation (Blanco, 2014).

Best practice case study: Sustainable urban freight operations, better air quality and safety in London

London is a leading example in sustainable freight operations from where many lessons can be learned and applied in OIC megacities, regardless of the differences in their wider urban environment. London’s success lies in its integrated approach between freight, safety and traffic management along with the enhanced public participation. It shows that when economic benefits are clearly communicated to the operators it then becomes easier for local authorities to engage them in making their operations more sustainable and safer.


37

In developing world megacities, the goods distribution system has become increasingly complex

because of increases in demand, government regulations, traffic congestion, high frequency

deliveries in lighter vehicles, environmental issues, and deliveries in unsafe areas. All actors involved

in the logistics sector want to work more efficiently and maintain their competitiveness but their

capacities and knowledge of the local traffic patterns, safety issues, street network and regulations

differ significantly. The actors directly involved in the logistics chain, such as shippers, logistics

service providers and carriers, located inside or outside megacities have different perceptions

related to regulations and issues in the movement of goods. The involvement of other, unofficial

private actors further complicates any effort to promote collaboration and coordination as well as

monitoring of logistics (Vieira et al, 2015).

Freight movements contribute to the deteriorating traffic conditions in the megacities of the

developing world. In most countries, the freight sector lacks basic infrastructure, such as freight

terminals, warehousing, loading and unloading areas, freight forwarding centres, and other logistical

needs. There are few developing world megacities that plan their logistics activities, thus a

dysfunctional arrangement of goods transport is the norm. Often, in the absence of peripheral routes

or bypasses, heavy goods vehicles pass through the core of cities, contributing to the poor quality of

roads as heavier vehicles pose significantly more pressure to pavements than cars. In turn, poor

quality road surfaces slow trucks more than lighter vehicles. The limited data availability in terms of

origins and destinations of transported goods puts additional barriers to planning freight

movements. For example, in Lagos, Nigeria, despite the large volumes of transported goods in the

city, there is no documented information related to the final destination of goods but only to the next

destination for each logistics provider (Cervero, 2013; Olayinka Somuyiwa, 2010).

Cities in the developing world face the same challenges in dealing with urban freight as cities

elsewhere, but differ significantly in terms of population and area growth, density and economic

disparities. Thus, besides the obvious implications to urban freight movement in these developing

cities (more congestion, less infrastructure, more informality), these unique characteristics create a

salient emerging property for urban freight. There is a large share of small, owner operated retail

outlets that provide goods and services in urban areas in developing countries. These small stores

represent a much larger share of consumer product goods, more than 40% in Latin America and

Asia. In Mexico City, for example, there are over 100,000 small stores, or an average of 200 people

per store. Unlike modern retail channels in North America and Europe, these stores are family

owned and operated, cash based, with very limited product assortment and shelf space, a small

geographical market area and with lack of processes and technology, besides a personal mobile

phone. Their servicing requires small vehicles, frequent deliveries due to the small volume and lack

of shelf and storage space. There are no widespread studies, but it is not uncommon for a single

small store, of less than 20-30 square meters, to receive over 30 deliveries per week. These levels of

logistics activities make the prominence of urban freight in developing cities even larger than cities

in high income countries (Blanco, 2014).

The majority of the measures described in the previous section, were developed and implemented in

high income urban cities. Most of them are still applicable in cities and port cities in the developing

world. Voluntary programs, developing of local planning freight policies, efficiency standards and

transfer directly. For port cities, improving port operations using port appointment systems, gate

pricing and voluntary emission reduction programs for oceans and vessels are sensible strategies

(Blanco, 2014).


38

Other policies are less effective due to the unique nature of the developing urban cities. For instance,

off hour deliveries require changes in operation hours for shippers, drivers and receivers. The large

number of small stores makes this very complex or with very limited impact as they have a single

owner that will very unlikely be willing to receive shipments at night, not to mention the risks in

moving freight in poor neighbourhoods. Road pricing is also difficult to implement. There is a lot of

informality in the transportation sector that makes these solutions much harder to deploy, and

politically even more challenging (Blanco, 2014).

There are also some good examples of innovative solutions that illustrate the potential of improving

freight in very complex urban environments. For example, the Mumbai Dabbawalasare a cooperative

of delivery of home prepared meals in India. They are well known in their field of logistics for

achieving high levels of accuracy in their deliveries despite working with low education workforce,

minimal management and no technology. From an urban freight perspective, their success is due to

leveraging the public infrastructure in Mumbai. Every morning, lunch boxes are collected by bicycle

and foot and transported, via multiple transfer points, using the public rail transport. The

Dabbawalas’ logistics system involves 25 km of public transport and 10 km of footwork with

multiple transfer points. Since the majority of the journey involves public transport, the timing of the

Dabbawalas is dependent on Mumbai’s suburban rail network. The Dabbawalas use the rail network

very effectively by employing simple, straight routes, mostly north south, and limit sorting to a few

central points (Blanco, 2014).

3.6. Road Safety

3.6.1. Introduction

In 2010, road accidents were estimated to account for 1.3 million deaths per year, an increase of

46% over the previous two decades, and a further 78.2 million non-fatal injuries requiring medical

care. In addition, global projections show an upward trend in total deaths and injuries, both

predicted to double by 2030. It is also estimated that almost 50% of fatal road accidents and 75% of

those leading to injuries take place in an urban environment. In high income countries, most of those

killed in road crashes are occupants of four wheeled motor vehicles; in low and middle income

countries, most fatalities are among pedestrians or cyclists (Rode et al, 2014).

Along with the human cost, the economic impact of traffic accidents involves the loss of human

capital, hospitalization, and material costs are also very high. The total cost of traffic accidents for

2010 is estimated at US$1,855 billion, or approximately 3% of the global GDP. Low and middle

income countries are experiencing even greater economic loss, approximately 5% of their GDP

(Rode et al, 2014).

Describing global road death and injury as a "major public health problem with a broad range of

social and economic consequences which, if unaddressed, may affect the sustainable development of

countries and hinder progress towards the Millennium Development Goals" the UN General

Assembly proclaimed the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 in a landmark Resolution

cosponsored by 100 countries. Officially launched on 11 May 2011, the Decade of Action has the

official goal of stabilizing and then reducing global road traffic fatalities by 2020. Among the

countries that participated in the agreement are many OIC members as well as Egypt, Nigeria,

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Turkey where six out of the seven the megacities of this study

belong. Senegal also participated in the agreement.


39

3.6.2. Road safety of megacities in developed countries

In terms of the comparison of the ratio between road deaths and vehicles, the developed countries

have better values than developing countries. However, road traffic injuries remain very relevant to

high income countries as well. The local authorities in developed countries play a key role in

reducing road casualties through their statutory functions and their local influence. Furthermore,

they make specific provision for vulnerable road user groups, encourage safer road user behaviour

and enforce traffic laws. Currently, the top performers globally with regard to road safety are the

Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom.

A lesson learned from developed countries with advanced road safety is that comprehensive and

clear legislation, enforced with appropriate penalties and accompanied by public awareness

campaigns, has been shown to be a critical factor in reducing road traffic injuries and deaths

associated with speed, drink driving, and the non-use of occupant protection measures (helmets,

seat belts, and child restraints). City visions focused on traffic safety are prominent in the agendas of

these cities. For example, New York City launched the ‘Vision Zero’ in 2014, arguing that traffic

crashes can no longer be considered mere "accidents," but rather as preventable incidents that can

be systematically addressed. This Vision Zero Action Plan is New York City's foundation for ending

traffic deaths and injuries on its streets. The plan involves improved street design, regulations and

also public participation (nyc.gov, 2015).

Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists continue to be the most vulnerable users in developed

countries. Pedestrians are among the road users most vulnerable to traffic injury. It has become

highly challenging, especially for older and young people, to cope with the complex, sometimes

hostile, traffic conditions that characterize today’s cities and towns. Pedestrians suffer severe

trauma from falls in public spaces and in traffic collisions while crossing streets. The magnitude of

the consequences of falls is known to be underestimated. Older people have an elevated risk of

severe injury and death from both falls and traffic collisions. Lowering motorized traffic speeds

reduces the frequency and severity of crashes, especially those involving pedestrians. Reducing

speed also contributes to smoother traffic flow, and enhances in many ways the liveability and

sustainability of cities (ITF, 2014).

The case of cycling is particularly interesting. Many local authorities in developed world megacities

are struggling to reduce accidents involving cyclists. Examples of interventions include speed

management acts as “hidden infrastructure” protecting cyclists, training and awareness raising

among drivers, and improved intersection design taking into visibility, predictability and speed

reduction. Authorities seeking to improve cyclists’ safety are trying to reorient policy focus on

improving the inherent safety of the traffic system, not simply securing cyclists in an inherently

unsafe system. However, evidence from Denmark shows that the risk of accidents and actual

accidents fall drastically when more people cycle. Car drivers pay a lot more attention on bicycles as

their number increases on the streets. In addition, bicycle helmet laws have been widely

controversial. Opponents of helmet legislation claim that people will use bicycles less if they are

required to wear a helmet, and thus miss out on the health benefits and enjoyment that may be

derived from cycling. Others suggest that potential safety initiatives (for example, separate bicycle

paths and lower speed limits) may be passed over in favour of helmet legislation (ITF, 2014; Gehl,

2010; Macpherson and Spinks, 2008).


40

3.6.3. Road safety of megacities in developing countries

Almost 85% of fatalities due to road accidents occur in low and middle income countries. India ranks

number one with 110,000 people killed every year, followed by China where 87,000 people killed

every year. In spite of various global efforts made to improve the road safety in developing countries,

road accidents, fatalities and injuries are not reducing. Among the main reasons behind this are the

limited institutional framework coverage and financial capacity as well as appropriate training of

both responsible authorities and drivers. According to older data, Uganda and Pakistan spent 0.09

USD per capita (or 0.02% of GDP/capita) and 0.07 USD per capita (or 0.015% of GDP/capita)

respectively on road safety in 1998. Although this situation has improved since then, especially with

the participation in the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, public spending of

developing countries on road safety remain remarkably low compared to those of the developed

ones (Bishai et al, 2003; Institute of Road Traffic Education, 2009).

More specifically most developing countries have yet to adopt a National Road Safety Plan. This is

often accompanied by inadequate accident data collection procedures and poor post-crash

management. The lack of information on the current road safety status, causes and consequences at

a country and city level further hinders the development of targets and plans for further action. In

addition, the roles and responsibilities for traffic management agencies and the police are often not

clearly defined. Traffic legislation is also not updated regularly, not covering the needs of NMT and

does not follow modern common practices such as common examination standards for obtaining

driving licenses. This leads to poor law enforcement on the side of the police and reckless driving.

Finally, the condition of the vehicles is also contributing to the accident rates, while at the same time

poor technical control facilities and regulations do not encourage any change.

Evidence from India shows that road traffic fatalities have been increasing at about 8% annually for

the last ten years and show no signs of decreasing. Accidents involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and

other non-motorists in urban areas account for about 60% of all fatalities in urban areas,

substantially more than in most high income countries. Motorcyclists represent a large portion of

urban fatalities (about 25%). However, a partial shift of motorcyclists to small cars due to income

increase is also concerning the Indian authorities, because although small cars provide more

protection to the occupants, they are expected to be more harmful than motorcycles to pedestrians,

bicyclists, and other motorcyclists unless vehicle fronts are designed to be more forgiving. In

addition, the involvement of trucks and buses in fatal crashes is all the more frequent. Several

studies indicate that the involvement of trucks in fatal crashes is greater than would be expected

based only on their exposure (Mohan et al, 2009).

Other reasons contributing to road accidents in India are related to night time driving. The lack of

concentration and control of road users who are driving under the influence of alcohol, the low

visibility and fatigue of truck drivers have a significant contribution to road fatalities. Finally, a large

proportion of fatalities on divided highways are from head on collisions caused by drivers driving on

the opposite direction. One study found that such crashes accounted for 19% of all fatalities on four

lanes, divided highways (Mohan et al, 2009).


41

3.7. Institutions and Organizational structure

3.7.1. Introduction

Urban transport governance remains a challenging area for both developed and developing world

cities. The development and implementation of transport policies requires a combination of

institutional structures and synergies to be in place in order to succeed. The concentration of all

operations and planning under a single transport authority for a city is considered a key action to

ensure the delivery of a sustainable transport strategy. This transport authority needs to be able to

develop a transport strategy for a city, ensure that the necessary synergies with other sectors and

authorities are in place, monitor the implementation of the plan, evaluate its success and adapt it

according to the changing needs of the city. In addition, the participation of all relevant stakeholders,

such as the public, private operators and local authorities, needs to be secured in order to deliver

equal access opportunities, service levels and economic benefits.

3.7.2. Institutions and organizational structure in developed world megacities

In most developed world megacities, the city wide transport authorities have been in place for years

and have developed their structure so that they manage most operations in the city and interactions

with other authorities such as land use planning and environment. However, in many cases, there is

still no framework in place to determine the responsibilities and role of private operators,

particularly for buses. This often means that operators provide services of different standards and

fares, affecting the overall customer experience. In addition, when the private sector is not operating

based on a common framework, there is often lack of balance in provision, with services available

and even overlapping on profitable routes and low or no availability on least profitable routes and

areas. The example of TfL proves how important it is to limit the levels of deregulation of the

transport sector, in order to provide higher levels of services. London is one of the very few cities in

the United Kingdom, where bus services are not entirely privatized, with TfL defining vehicle and

operation standards and managing the concessions of services in a competitive environment. As a

result, unlike other cities in the UK, it has been easy for TfL to establish fare structures and a

ticketing system that spans across most all modes in the city, and wide coverage real time

information. In the case of London, central management is crucial for better providing coordination

of services, complimentarily of modes and seamless multimodal travel for all passengers.

Except for managing transport operations and the development of strategies, monitoring and

evaluation are also very important, in order to assess the successes and failures of programmes

during their implementation. Although monitoring and evaluation procedures are not always

followed as they should, or even neglected in some cases following the implementation of a plan or a

project, efforts to ensure that assessment is taking place are increasing. There are still significant

limitations in the sharing of lessons learnt from the successes and the failures of schemes between

authorities of different megacities in the developed world. Pre-existing political agendas or limited

willingness to adapt policies to local conditions are still obstacles to sharing best practices.

Finally, one of the future challenges for transport authorities in the developed world cities and

megacities is the increasing involvement of the private sector in the provision of transport services,

mostly through internet applications. The rise of peer-to-peer innovation, where people offer

services to their peers such as lifts, groceries shopping and running errands, is challenging the

structure of traditional governance systems. For example, the rise of internet taxi services such as

Uber, changes the geographies of cities as people now are able to access more rapidly and easily


42

areas that they may otherwise not visit, such as busy nightlife areas where taxis are difficult to find.

Such services change the levels of availability of mobility in the city, stretch the operating hours of

services and long standing urban standards such as car ownership. It is expected that car ownership

levels will drop even in traditional car dominated countries such as the United States which has a

direct impact on parking standards for housing, focus of infrastructure and location of new

development. Should this social and capital transformation be successful, transport authorities will

need to adapt their strategies and standards in order to adapt to the changing markets and

demands?

3.7.3. Institutions and organization in developing world megacities

The institutional structure of transport planning authorities in developing world megacities is

usually less clear than that of the developed ones. The fragmentation of responsibilities is a key issue

causing problems and inconsistencies among different authorities and organizations responsible for

different aspects of transport and spatial planning. This is often the reason why cities and megacities

in particular megacities of the developing world lack a global vision which in turn enhances the

freedom of organizational authorities and the private sector to act without collaborating. The lack of

control over the activity of the private sector in particular, leads to economic losses for both local

authorities and operators themselves as competition is uncontrolled and in many cases unfair.

However, it should be noted that private public transport operators are often the first to respond to

the needs of the population where there is new demand or lack of provision by the local authorities.

In addition, monitoring and evaluation are a very big challenge for the authorities of the developing

world megacities. The size and interconnected challenges in the urban environment require a robust

database for the management for the collection of the necessary information to be used for

monitoring. However, the lack of monitoring mechanisms and consistent data collection is a

significant barrier to understanding the quality and quantity of transport problems in the city. As a

consequence, the evaluation of policies and projects is becoming extremely difficult to conduct.

Except for the difficulty to assess the impacts of projects and policies, it is also becoming difficult to

understand the synergies and clashes between them, which hinder the effective shaping of future

actions.

Last but not least, one of the major problems of the transport sector in the developing world

megacities is the focus on short term impact, prestigious or highly profitable projects. Concepts such

as “cities are engines of economic growth” and the concept of linking economic well-being with GDP

growth have had a major impact on national and urban policies in many cities and megacities of the

developing world. The increasing involvement of international corporations to the building and

maintenance of infrastructure and the type of infrastructure that has been built has weakened the

economies of developing countries and marginalized even further the poor who have limited

capacity to respond to such interventions. Mega infrastructure projects for megacities have

traditionally lacked a multimodal planning approach, favoured private cars and dislocated or

separated poor communities (Hasan, 2009).

3.8. Urban Transport Infrastructure Financing

3.8.1. Introduction

As transport demand increases with the rapid increase in population and per capita income of

megacities, so does the need for expansion in transport infrastructure capacity. As stressed in the


43

previous sections, it is necessary to focus on mass transit and demand management as well as in

building a stable institutional framework that manages the transport system. Nevertheless, even

when other issues, such as environmental and community impacts of new infrastructure, are

managed, finding adequate sources of finance continues to figure prominently in both the developing

and developed worlds. Infrastructure financing is particularly difficult because of the separation of

road infrastructure from operations and because of the multiple objectives that public authorities

are pursuing in urban transport policy (Zegras, 2003).

The capacity of cities and megacities’ plan and fund their own infrastructures, as well as the sources

of their funding, vary across the world regardless of their level of wealth. While city governments

tend to lead on small and medium scale public infrastructure initiatives – such as public space

improvements, cycle paths, footpaths and smaller roads – large scale infrastructure tends to be

controlled by state and national governments, often requiring substantial external investments. Both

highway infrastructure and operations and rail-based transport are the most centralized transport

subsectors, mainly led by national government. On the other hand, the main difference between

developed and developing countries is the consistency of financial arrangements within the overall

urban strategies. In the case of developed countries, this consistency means that both taxation

income and private investments can be secured to a certain extent. On the other hand, in developing

countries, the lack of consistent financial arrangements means that funding sources and models need

to be employed on an individual project basis, often undermining the cohesion of urban strategies

(UCL Cities, 2014; World Bank, 2002).

3.8.2. Urban transport infrastructure financing in developed world megacities

Developed countries benefit from existing funding mechanisms and regulations which allow them to

create highly profitable opportunities for private sector investments and capture the full benefits of

new infrastructure. Since the 1970s, in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

(OECD) countries, privatization and public sector expenditure constraints have given rise to a

substantial reduction in public sector investment and to an alteration of the respective importance

of the private and the public sectors in infrastructure investment. At the same time, privatization of a

number of public enterprises has taken place, and a number of new private infrastructure

investments have been realized (Short and Kopp, 2005; Debande, 2002).

In order to stimulate investment, public authorities have sought to involve the private sector in the

creation of new infrastructures. Various structures can be used. For example in concession schemes

the recourse to private capital for projects are undertaken at the initiative of the public authorities,

but the private sector is in charge of providing the capital assets as well as the services. With

privatization, in contrast, the ownership rights of the assets are transferred to the private sector, the

public sector retaining a regulatory role in some sectors. In a contracting out schemes, the private

sector is only contractually responsible for providing services, and not for capital assets.

The trend to privatise is strengthened by technological innovations in the collection of user fees. In

this context, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) emerging as one institutional structure, in which the

public authorities deal with network or environmental externalities, demand uncertainty, and

administrative costs associated with the project. On the private side, if infrastructure privatization is

combined with deregulation or liberalization of market entry, competition in terms of the provision

of services may increase, as may the market risks associated with the project. Among the benefits of

such partnerships is that the private investor will search for a balance between cost, financial return,

and risk. The introduction of full lifetime costing of the asset is another advantage of having recourse


44

to the private sector. Indeed, a concession scheme favours optimization of the trade-off between the

standards to which facilities are constructed and the cost of maintenance during their lifetime. The

lifetime costing approach ensures that the overall costs of an asset are minimized throughout its

lifetime as it is maintained at the required standards. It is associated with the shift of the public

sector’s focus to output specification in private concessions.

However, despite the elaborate funding mechanisms, cities and megacities do not always priorities

projects and infrastructure that supports sustainable urban transport and development and long

term benefits. For example, it is estimated that the external costs of urban sprawl are in the area of

$400 billion USD per year in the United States. Best practice towards sustainable urban development

involves many of the compact city investment projects within the reach of city governments, who

can leverage national or private funds to finance initial capital investments. In this case, private

finance can be mobilized through real estate developer charges and fees, property or value capture

taxes, loans, green bonds and carbon finance. This allows monetization of the positive externalities

of public transport investment and can be particularly important in overcoming funding gaps for

infrastructure that supports higher levels of urban density. For example in Hong Kong, the

government’s ‘Rail plus Property’ model captures the uplift in property values along new transit

routes, ensuring efficient urban form whilst at the same time generating US$27 billion in direct

financial benefits for the Hong Kong government since its inception in the 1970s. Land value capture

is also applied in several other Asian cities including Delhi and Tokyo (Rode et al, 2014).

3.8.3. Urban transport infrastructure financing in developing world megacities

Around the world, transport sector resource allocation has perpetuated a longstanding emphasis on

traditional private vehicle oriented transport projects and programs by domestic and international

funders. Currently, particular in the developing world, national and international funding streams do

not sufficiently recognize the importance of supporting sustainable transport projects and initiatives

that will mitigate the negative global trends car ownership and use, greenhouse gas emissions, and

fatalities resulting from road accidents (WRI, 2013).

Over the past few years, national governments, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)4 and

Multilateral Financial Intuitions (MFIs)5 that have begun to priorities funding for sustainable

transport projects. The commitment by the eight MDBs and MFIs (African Development Bank, Asian

Development Bank, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America, European Bank for Reconstruction

4Multilateral Development Banks are institutions that provide financial support and professional advice for economic

and social development activities in developing countries. The term Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)

typically refers to the World Bank Group and four Regional Development Banks (African Development Bank, Asian

Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank Group)

(The World Bank, 2015).

5 Several other banks and funds that lend to developing countries are also identified as multilateral development institutions, and are often grouped together as other Multilateral Financial Institutions (MFIs). They differ from the MDBs in that they have a narrower ownership/membership structure and they focus on special sectors or activities. Among these are The European Commission and The European Investment Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, The Islamic Development Bank, The Nordic Development Fund and The Nordic Investment Bank, and The OPEC Fund for International Development (The World Bank, 2015).

http://www.afdb.org/

http://www.adb.org/

http://www.adb.org/

http://www.ebrd.com/

http://www.iadb.org/

http://ec.europa.eu/

http://www.eib.org/

http://www.ifad.org/

http://www.ifad.org/

http://www.isdb.org/

http://www.ndf.fi/

http://www.nib.int/home/

http://www.nib.int/home/

http://www.ofid.org/


45

and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter‐American Development Bank, Islamic

Development Bank, World Bank) to invest $175 billion in sustainable transportation systems over

the coming decade provides an opportunity to move forward on the pressing issues currently facing

the transport sector. It is a key indicator of shifting priorities, as they consider the long term impacts

of climate change and recognize the public health, environmental, and economic benefits and

inclusiveness of sustainable transport (WRI, 2013; Mitric, 2013).

Nonetheless, there is still much work to be done to develop national level urban transport programs

and policies, clarify and track investments in sustainable transport at the MDB, MFI, national and

local government levels, and leverage domestic and private finance. National governments are vital

for linking their national finance programs with international finance sources to promote a shift to

more sustainable transport. Three sources of financing, capital funds from national and international

funds, private sector, and local, are discussed below. It is noted that the complexity of financing

requires extended analysis and therefore the discussion below is only an effort to summarize the key

issues related to the key sustainability and success factors (WRI, 2013).

To begin with, in order to overcome the longstanding bias towards unsustainable transport, national

governments must establish strong policy frameworks that priorities sustainable transport project

and program investments along with national funding programs to implement them. The national

funding programs should supplement and leverage MDB/ MFI project and policy funding, while

providing incentives for local governments to plan, evaluate, and implement sustainable transport

projects. The combined impact of national and international efforts for infrastructure, plan and also

institutional development grows local demand for sustainable transport financing and establishes a

virtuous cycle that continuously increases demand for international, domestic, and private financing

for sustainable transport projects (WRI, 2013).

However, national governments or international funding alone cannot fulfil the vast infrastructure

needs in the transport sector. It is key to attract private sector investment and financing by ensuring

a viable regulatory and legal environment, appropriate design and structure of markets, long term

incentives for private investment and protection from investment risks. PPPs have been embraced

by many developing countries that have followed a more proactive approach in attracting funding,

but this has been so far used primarily for financing airports and ports, rather than for sustainable

urban transport used by the majority of people on a day to day basis. In the case of PPPs and

concessions it is necessary that public contribution is appraised following specific principles and

procedures in order to avoid committing to partnerships without clear understanding of costs and

benefits. Essentially, if the private concessionaire is able to exploit consumer surplus of users of new

infrastructure, the public sector should require that the value of external and nonuser benefits be

sufficient to justify the required contribution (WRI, 2013; World Bank, 2002).

In addition to private sector financing, another way for national governments to leverage their own

finances, and the funding received from international sources, is to tap into local funding sources

and develop other innovative financing sources. National governments collect user fees and revenue

from land use, vehicle, income, and fuel taxes. Governments can implement additional instruments

to invest future property value increases into infrastructure improvements, like the innovative

financing scheme on the Mass Transit Railway in Hong Kong. National governments also play a vital

role in correctly pricing fuel and reducing fuel subsides. In Indonesia, for example, the government is

pursuing reforms to reduce market distortion. India’s planned “green surcharge” on petrol, “green

cess” on personal vehicles, and “urban transport tax” on the purchase of new cars and two wheelers


46

are also notable. Raising additional financing through local sources is an important opportunity that

national governments could pursue to fund sustainable transport projects demanded by local areas.

Although local taxing capabilities are very limited in many countries, it can also be an option of local

funding and an opportunity to channel resources to each city’s particular needs (WRI, 2013; World

Bank, 2002).

Finally, in order to ensure the effectiveness of financing it is absolutely necessary to increase the

effectiveness of the current decision making processes that typically fail to take into account the full

economic, social, and environmental consequences of transport policies, programs, and projects.

National governments can increase the effectiveness of financing decisions by following a structured

process starting with needs assessment, planning and policy formulation, implementation,

monitoring, and finally ex post evaluation. Financing based on performance outcomes should be a

practice followed by both national governments and international funding organizations. One

potential method of impact evaluation is a scorecard with mandatory and recommended outcomes,

including safeguards for mitigating environmental, social, and other risks (WRI, 2013).

3.9. Health

3.9.1. Introduction

Unsustainable transport practices, particularly the intensive use of private motorized transport,

have serious indirect impacts on public health. Air pollution is probably the most commonly

mentioned cause of transport related health problems but the urban heat island effect, increased

noise pollution and the lower activity levels are equally important. In addition, it is now widely

accepted that the environmental impact of transport and therefore its impacts on health, are

exacerbated in an unpredictable way by climate change. (Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalan, 2007).

Air pollution from transportation can be caused by several factors such as excessive vehicle use, age

of fleet and technology used, poor maintenance of vehicles, and unavailability or improper use of

appropriate fuels. Air pollution from motorized transport in cities is an increasing threat for public

health in megacities, much of which is generated by motorized transport. Pollutant emissions such

as NOx and PM10 are the biggest concern for local air quality in urban areas as they contribute to a

range of cardiovascular, pulmonary and respiratory diseases, leading to an estimated 3.2 million

deaths a year across the world. For 2010, the World Bank estimated the total number of deaths due

to transport related air pollution was at a minimum of 184,000 per year. Urban air pollution is

estimated to cost approximately 2% of GDP in developed countries and 5% in developing countries

(Rode et al, 2014).

The impacts of transport on health differ significantly between developed and developing

megacities. Results suggest that some megacities like Los Angeles, New York, Osaka Kobe, Sao Paulo

and Tokyo have very low excess cases in total mortality from transport related pollutants. In

contrast, the approximate numbers of cases is highest in Karachi (15,000/year) characterized by a

very high concentration of total suspended particles (670 μg/m3). The highest cardiovascular

mortality rates are found in Dhaka (7000/year), Beijing (5500/year), Karachi (5200/year), Cairo

(5000/year) and Delhi (3500/ year). The morbidity (hospital admissions) due to Chronic

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) caused by air pollution follows the tendency of

cardiovascular mortality. Dhaka and Karachi lead the rankings, having about 2100/year excess

cases, while Osaka-Kobe (20/year) and Sao Paulo (50/year) are at the low end of all megacities

considered (Gurjar et al, 2010).


47

Along with the accidents and air pollution, increasing levels of motorization also result in a reduction

in the total physical activity levels. Physical inactivity and its effect on the prevalence of non-

communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular conditions, cancer and diabetes, is recognized as a

leading cause of mortality worldwide, contributing to 3.2 million deaths annually. Increased use of

motorized transport limits the activity levels of all users as it contributes to the reduction of overall

levels of outdoor activity due to traffic and air pollution and limited accessibility to green and public

spaces (Rode et al, 2014).

Heat waves in cities are exacerbated by the urban heat island effect. These result from lowered

evaporative cooling, increased heat storage and sensible heat flux caused by lowered vegetation

cover, increased impervious cover and complex, dark surfaces, and possibly from heat trapping by

elevated levels of locally produced CO2. Central city areas show a large heat island effect, with an

increase in sensible heat up to 4˚C than the surrounding rural areas. Wider urban sprawl further

exacerbates the effect. For example, in southeast China, such land use patterns have been estimated

to account for 0.05˚C of regional warming per decade since 1978.Heat waves can cause dramatic

impacts on urban health, particularly for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and low income

groups. One of the most striking examples of the recent years was the extended period of record high

temperatures experienced in Europe in summer 2003, which was made significantly more likely by

human induced climate change. This caused excess mortality of over 35,000 people within a one to

two week period in early August (Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalan, 2007).

Finally, air quality is strongly dependent on weather and is therefore sensitive to climate change.

Levels of many pollutants, such as ozone, are affected by atmospheric conditions and tend to be

higher on warmer days. Epidemiological evidence from developing country cities is weak, but

inferences from developed countries suggest significant risks associated with increasing

temperatures. Studies of 15 cities in the south eastern USA have shown that under one of the more

severe scenarios of future climate change, by the 2050s, climate change can be expected to raise the

average number of days in which the 8th hour6 ozone standard is exceeded by 60% and cause ozone

related deaths to increase by 4.5% (for the impacts of transport on climate change see also section

3.10 below) (Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalan, 2007).

There is a scope for synergies between efforts to improve urban transport related problems such as

congestion, and public health. Transport, as well as urban planning, affect energy consumption and

associated emissions through shaping land use, modal share and the extent of the urban heat island

effect. In addition, there is scope for actions at the individual, or at the municipal or national level,

which have the capacity to simultaneously enhance heath, reduce consumption, and provide

economic benefits (Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalan, 2007).

3.9.2. Transport and health in the megacities in developed countries

Air pollution has been recognized as a problem in the developed countries since the 1950s in both

Europe and North America. Motor vehicles emission standards were introduced as early as in 1966

in California. Since then, many developed countries have been making significant efforts to improve

air quality and reduce air pollution caused by the transport sector by promoting sustainable

transport. Europe is mostly considered as world best practice in sustainable transport as most

European countries have high quality NMT infrastructures and a well-developed public transport

system (Parrish et al, 2011).

6The 8th highest hourly concentration of ozone within a year.


48

Besides implementing behavioural strategies (e.g. to attract more car users to use NMT and public

transport modes), European countries are currently also at the stage of promoting clean vehicle and

fuel technology. Low emission vehicles become more popular in order to green the public transport

fleet, i.e. electric buses and buses with high emission standards, in order to protect the health quality

of the citizens especially in the urban areas. In the Netherlands for example, around 76% of the

public transport bus fleet already have EEV (Enhanced Environmentally friendly Vehicle) standards,

which is the highest European emission standard that corresponds to very low pollutant emissions.

In terms of cars, due to attractive fiscal policies, electric car sales in Europe increased by 77% in

2014. In the last decade, many European cities (London, Milan and others) have introduced LEZ

(Low Emission Zones) in urban areas where only clean freight vehicles with diesel particulate filter

are allowed to enter.

In addition, the principal air quality pollutant emissions from petrol, diesel and alternative fuel

engines (carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, un-burnt hydrocarbons and particulate matter) are

regulated by the Euro emissions standards. Modern cars, if kept in good condition, produce only

quite small quantities of the air quality pollutants, but the emissions from large numbers of cars add

to a significant air quality problem. Unlike emissions of CO2, emissions of the air quality pollutants

are not directly linked to fuel consumption. Pollutant emission levels depend more on vehicle

technology and the state of maintenance of the vehicle. Over the last twenty years increasingly

stringent emission limits have been set at a European level, starting with the Euro1 standards in

1993. All new cars currently have to meet the Euro 5 standard which was adopted on 1st January

2011. At the same time, the European Union Ambient Air Quality Directive sets maximum

permissible levels for atmospheric concentrations of pollutants thought to be harmful to human

health with which governments must comply. Achieving the air quality standards for nitrogen

dioxide and fine particles presents the greatest challenge, especially in urban areas and areas close

to busy roads (DfT, 2015).

In terms of physical activity many campaigns in developed countries are focused on promoting the

health benefits of active modes. Such campaigns are addressed to all age groups, highlighting the

different benefits for different people. In megacities such as London and New York, walkability and

cycling have been key issues in the healthy cities agendas. However, the impacts of current practices

are still not fully recognized in many cases. More specifically, obesity is widely considered and

treated as an individual problem when it is often a social problem as unsustainable lifestyles are not

only related to diet but also to mobility and exercise choices of both adults and children. At the same

time, the full impacts of noise pollution, especially in central areas in cities, are not fully incorporated

in transport planning policies. There is evidence that noise pollution can impact the physical and

mental health of city dwellers. It is suggested that current health and ecological sustainability

practices should be enhanced in order to support not just the absence of diseases but also a social

and physical environment that recognize the importance of active modes and enhances all modes of

physical and mental well-being.

Finally, in terms of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, the contribution of transport is often not fully

recognized. UHI is often attributed to dense development and high densities but it is also a result of

high levels of combustion in the urban areas and the dark, unreflective asphalt surfaces. The road

network and the big open parking spaces contribute significantly to the increase of the urban

temperatures which, in turn, can have serious impacts on the health of urban populations. Lighter

colour surfaces, NMT and public transport, and planning for planting trees across streets can


49

significantly contribute to cooling the urban environment and reducing the sensible heat (Fraker,

2010).

3.9.3. Transport and health in the megacities in developing countries

While most developed countries have put in measures to reduce vehicle emissions, in terms of fuel

quality and vehicle emission reduction technologies, these measures are yet to be adopted in most

cities in developing countries. Unlike developed countries that implement fuels pricing to influence

the way the consumers choosing the vehicles types, many developing countries subsidize fossil fuel

consumption, which hinders the acceptance of new fuel technologies. Even in the cases when there is

political willingness to impose restrictions on old vehicles and emission standards, the lack of

monitoring capacity as well as the necessary funds to support new standards significantly limits the

success of such policies. Sao Paulo, the only megacity in Brazil, is possibly the only example of

successful example of alternative fuel adoption, as the country widely supports bio fuels.

The lack of an effective policy framework and the rapid motorization levels have contributed to the

hazardous levels of air pollution in many developing world megacities. Although the modal share of

private cars remains lower than that of the developed world megacities, it has multiple impacts on

the population’s health and vulnerability, particularly in the megacities of South Asia. Over 90% of

air pollution in cities in developing countries is attributed to vehicle emissions brought about by

high number of older vehicles coupled with poor vehicle maintenance, inadequate infrastructure and

low fuel quality. It is noted that motorized transport has a circular impact on health, physical

activity, safety and eventually increasing motorization as it renders any other transport mode a non-

viable solution.

There are encouraging signals that urban populations of developing countries will be active partners

in positive change. Health driven environmental concerns are today most keenly felt among urban

dwellers in low income countries. For example, 24% of Chinese respondents believe that the

environment and climate change are the most important problem facing the world compared to less

than 2% in the USA. Cities are often cosmopolitan and built around trade, increasing awareness of

globalization and interconnectivity. Many cities now work together directly, both nationally and

internationally, to address sustainability issues. Such partnerships are likely to grow as the common

interests of urban populations in protecting the local and global environment become more

apparent (Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalan, 2007).

3.10. Climate Change

3.10.1. Introduction

Climate change is one of the major global challenges, and greenhouse gas (GHG)7 emissions from

transport are a key contributor to this. Although the Earth has experienced changing climate since

the beginning of time, during the last century, anthropogenic activity has threatened significant

climate change over a relatively short time period. Global warming is caused by the accumulation of

key GHG in the atmosphere resulting from continuous combustion of fossil fuels and changes in land

use over the 20th century. The impacts of anthropogenic activity on climate are now evident as the

rate and magnitude of warming due to GHG is directly comparable to actual observed increases of

temperature. The exact extent of climate change is unknown. The Emissions Scenarios report

7Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. The most significant greenhouse gases are water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).


50

published by the IPCC in 2000, predicts that for six different emission scenarios on the increase of

CO2 emissions, global average temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8˚C. Furthermore, the

radioactive forcing experienced from CO2 today is a result of emissions during the last 100 years. It is

this inertia that means that some impacts of anthropogenic climate change may yet remain

undetected and will ensure that global warming will continue for decades after stabilization

(Chapman, 2007; Nakicenovic and Swart, 2000).

The majority of the world’s megacities are located on the coast or along major rivers, as they are old

cities and historical centres of trade. These locations are now vulnerable to flooding caused by

storms and high winds, and accentuated by global warming and rising sea levels. There are 40

million, or 10% of their total population, that are exposed to a 1 in 100 year coastal flood event, a

number which is expected to rise to 150 million in 2070. However, the vulnerability levels of

different cities are different. Developed world megacities are more exposed in terms of assets while

developing world megacities are exposed in terms of population (Banister, 2011).

About 40% of the overall transport emissions are generated in cities, not only by passenger

transport but also freight and commercial transport, aviation and maritime transport. The impact of

transport on the global climate is not limited to vehicle emissions as the production and distribution

of fuel from oil, a ‘wells to wheels’ approach, produces significant amounts of greenhouse gas in

itself. For example, consideration of total CO2 emissions from an average car showed that 76% were

from fuel usage whereas 9% was from manufacturing of the vehicle and a further 15% was from

emissions and losses in the fuel supply system (Chapman, 2007).

All transport sectors are experiencing expansion and there is a general trend that the modes which

are experiencing the most growth are also the most polluting. Aviation and motor cars are

increasingly the favoured modes for passenger transport, but are also significantly the most

damaging. The case is similar for freight where again aviation and road freight are both the sectors

with the biggest growth and highest CO2 emissions. There are many good examples of reductions in

energy use and improved, multimodal planning as well as positive signs that sustainable urban

lifestyles are being adopted by many people. However, the question remains if whether there is

commitment and leadership reconsider the modern mobility patterns (Banister, 2011; Chapman,

2007).

3.10.2. Climate change of megacities in developed countries

It is considered that the development patterns that the majority of the developed world countries

have followed have had a detrimental effect on climate. Although most countries have included

emissions reduction targets in their national agendas, the measures that they have taken are often

not sufficient to achieve the scale required. The actions at a city level are more promising as local

governments have taken on a leadership role in addressing the transport problems as they relate to

carbon emissions, but there is still considerable variation between cities.

Developed world megacities are more resilient than those in the developing world but still

vulnerable to climate change. For example, the Thames flood barrier was built between 1974 and

1983 to prevent London from flooding as a result of high tides and sea surges for the ‘100 year

event’. Between 1986 and 1996 the barrier was raised 27 times, but in the period between 1996 and

2006 it was raised 66 times. The costs of extreme weather phenomena for developing world

megacities increase exponentially because of the high concentration of assets in these cities. The

repair costs after Hurricane Sandy in New York were estimated above 30 billion USD, especially due


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to the extensive damages to the subway system. In addition, the impacts of disasters are inequitable.

The strike of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, USA in 2005 showed that poorer populations were

more vulnerable and therefore social inequities and poor disaster response can worsen the total toll

of a natural disaster (Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalan, 2007; Forbes, 2012; Banister, 2011).

The high income cities and megacities have the opportunity to substantially reduce emissions

through a combination of sustainable planning and behavioural practices, which will be the basis for

a paradigm shift in transport planning (Table 4). Four key areas of actions towards this direction can

be identified. These are substitution, modal shift, distance reduction and efficiency increase.

Substitution of travel practically means that a trip is no longer made, as it has either been replaced

by a non-travel activity or it has been substituted through technology, for example internet

shopping. There is also the possibility of several activities into one longer trip instead of single

journey trips. Modal shift can be supported by transport policy measures encouraging walking and

cycling and developing a new transport hierarchy. Demand management is effective in restricting

access and reallocating space, and making better use of existing capacity. A much wider notion of the

street can be created so that it is no longer considered only as a road, but also as a space for people,

green modes and public transport. Land use planning can address the physical separation of

activities and build sustainable mobility into the patterns of urban form and layouts. Finally,

technological innovation can increase efficiency of operations in the freight and passenger transport.

Except for vehicle and fuel technology, there are substantial opportunities to use the new

technologies creatively to enable sharing and match up journeys or loads to increase occupancy

levels and to reduce the overall numbers of vehicles using the transport system (Banister, 2011).

Table 4: Contrasting approaches to transport planning

The conventional approach An alternative approach

Transport planning and engineering Sustainable mobility

Physical dimensions Social dimensions

Mobility Accessibility

Traffic, particularly on the car People focus, either in (or on) a vehicle or on foot

Large in scale Local in scale

Street as a space

All modes of transport often in a hierarchy with pedestrian and cyclist at the top and car users at the bottom

Forecasting traffic Visioning on cities

Scenario development and modelling

Multi criteria analysis to take into account environmental and social concerns

Travel as a valued activity as well as a derived demand

Management based

Speeding up traffic Slowing movement down

Travel time minimization Reasonable travel times and travel time reliability

Segregation of people and traffic Integration of people and traffic

Source: Banister, 2011

3.10.3. Climate change of megacities in developing countries

Although both developed and developing economies are exposed to climate change, the distribution

of its impacts is characterized by significant inequalities. The most vulnerable groups are the


52

children, the elderly and the urban poor of the developing world cities, who have contributed the

least to GHG emissions. The rapid economic growth and the urbanization of developing countries

mean that the cities of these countries will soon be both vulnerable to health hazards from climate

change and major contributors to the problem at the same time (Campbell-Lendrum and Corvalan,

2007).

The impacts of climate change on developing world megacities are already evident. Construction

patterns in many developing cities have resulted in a combination of degradation of natural

protection (for example through deforestation and building on floodplains), poor quality housing

built on exposed slopes and extensive ground coverage of concrete without adequate drainage.

Heavy rains therefore result in intense flash floods such as those that happened in Mumbai, India in

2005. Sustainable economic development offers the opportunity for improved protection through

better housing and flood protection. However, apart from upgrading protection and infrastructure to

handle such events, land use planning should be used to reduce vulnerability for new development

and selective relocation of existing city areas should be considered (Banister, 2011; Campbell-

Lendrum and Corvalan, 2007).

The megacities of the developing world seem to be following the same path as the developed ones

did in the past, with the affluent middle class buying cars as soon as they can afford to, continuing

the excessive production of GHG emissions. The adoption of a carbon free vision by megacities of the

developing world is expected to bring environmental, social and economic benefits. A vision adapted

to each city’s previous development pathways and current problems and vulnerabilities can make a

significant contribution to the shift away from car based mobility which requires mass

redevelopment of the existing city centres or their expansion to new areas so that the necessary

capacity can be created. These practices have been proven to be extremely costly with substantial

implications on social welfare, environmental quality and health. There is an opportunity for the

megacities of the developing world to continue growing, not as replicas of the cities in the West, but

as models for sustainable development (Banister, 2011).

A carbon free vision needs to combine all the best practice that was described in the previous

sections, both in terms of planning and governance. There should be a clear future city vision or

spatial strategy that is affordable, adaptable and implementable, and this requires strong institutions

and governance structures for the city. Policy effectiveness needs to be clearly explained and

accepted by the full range of involved stakeholders, through their involvement in the process.

Finally, the ownership of the land in the city is the key factor in the success of such a vision as for

real change to take place, there needs to be direct intervention by city governments. Currently, in

most cities the land is either owned and managed by low income groups or sold to developers in

order to build large, unconnected and expensive superblocks. Transport should be seen as part of

the new and existing developments where some of the benefits can be released through value

capture. Sustainable transport and poverty alleviation should be seen as complementary issues and

should be moving to the same direction (Banister, 2011).

3.11. Social Exclusion


Poor transport, both in developed and developing economies, is one of the factors contributing to

social exclusion. Not everyone who experiences social exclusion will necessarily have a transport

problem, and not everyone with transport problems is at risk of social exclusion. For some people,


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transport can be a major factor limiting their opportunities, while for others, it may not be very

important compared to other problems such as poor education. In many cases, car access makes a

huge difference to quality of life and access to jobs, education, health care and shops (Social

Exclusion Unit, 2003).

Transport related social exclusion can take different forms for different groups of a society, different

societies and different modes of transport. In both developed and developing economies, the most

vulnerable groups are the urban poor, the aging population, the women and the people with

disabilities. The analysis provided on this section is non-exhaustive and is focusing on the most

common transport related social exclusion problems in the megacities of the developed and the

developing world.

3.11.2. Transport related social exclusion in megacities of developed countries

Transport related social exclusion in developed world megacities is very often linked to the unequal

distribution of access opportunities to employment. Economic and time based exclusion refer to the

failure of the transport systems to enable employed or unemployed individuals to access the labour

markets that match their professional skills. For example, the concentration of highly skilled

individuals in central employment areas in London means that a very large number of the

population that does not live in the central area of the city relies heavily on the reliability of the

public transport network. The contribution of other factors, such as housing affordability is crucial to

economic and time based exclusion (Church et al, 2000).

In terms of gender and transport related social exclusion, it is generally considered that men and

women have the same access opportunities to transport in the developed world. However, a

substantial part of academic research has examined whether women’s access opportunities are

actually able to cover their mobility needs. The modernist urban land use planning principles have

been openly criticized as male oriented and unable to adequately serve an employed woman’s needs.

It is considered that the impact of automobile oriented transport planning and its lack of

coordination with land use planning, is significantly higher on women due to their complex mobility

patterns. The improvement of accessibility and mobility opportunities for women can have wider

social benefits as it has a significant impact on the quality of life and contributes to the time savings

of a large, active part of the society (Hayden, 1980; Jain et al, 2011).

Efforts have been made to understand the complexity of women’s travel needs in order to move

forward the debates of gender and sustainable mobility. The majority of the studies on women’s

transport needs examine the potential of bottom up innovation by understanding their time space

needs and constraints and proposing solutions that can be introduced by women as users of the

transport system. For example, a study on the everyday context of transport for British women who

combine parenting and part time work, showed that the solutions women find, although not

necessarily innovative, were inherent in the selection of transport mode, and specific ICT related

rescheduling in real-time. The ‘school run’ by whatever mode and despite the time constraints

appeared to have an important role in the lives of this group of women, notable for the time it gives

for social interaction. Thus, this suggests the issue is how to maintain this journey with their

children sustainably while coordinating it with journey with work, should be the policy focus (Jain et

al, 2011).

Research on the complexity women’s mobility needs has also revealed flaws in widely accepted

policy tools such as the implementation of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes where cars with only


54

two passengers or more can travel. It has been argued that, although women are more likely than

men to have passengers in their cars during some parts of their journey on a daily basis, for example

children on the way to school, this is not as easy in their last lap on the way to their workplace.

Especially part time working women, it is less likely to have regular journey times and patterns and

therefore it is not as easy as for men to arrange car sharing with other commuters (Cresswell and

Uteng, 2008; Jain et al, 2011).

In terms of equal access for people with disabilities, developed world megacities have been making

significant progress towards providing improved access to public transport, infrastructure and

public spaces in response to strong advocacy. For example, a number of European countries have

introduced legislation governing the rights of disabled people or concerning accessibility to public

transport and the built environment in 2000. Legislation is supported guidance, information

campaigns and training. In addition, legislation is often regionalized in order to meet the specific

needs of different areas within a city, and busy urban environments in particular. Additional

services, particularly door-to-door and dial-a-ride services, are often offered in order to facilitate the

movement of people with mobility problems. However, it should be noted that even in high income

countries, implementation has spread slowly and the overall impact still remains disappointing in

many cases (Venter et al, 2002; World Bank, 2004).

Solutions for seamless access are easier to apply in newer transport systems and vehicles. For

example, TfL asks their passengers to check which Tube stations provide step free access before

travelling and provides detailed information and maps showing which stations are accessible.

Despite the fact that all bus routes in London are served by low floor vehicles with dedicated

wheelchair spaces and access ramps, only a quarter of the Tube stations have step free access. On

the contrary, newer urban rail systems in London such as the tram stops and the Docklands Light

Railway (DLR) offer full step free access.

It is also important to note that many transport planning authorities have recognized the fact that

accessible transport is not only related to vehicles and stations. Pedestrian infrastructure

throughout the cities should be focused on facilitating the movement of people with disabilities.

Unobstructed and well maintained footways are a key element of accessible city. Additional features

such as tactile paving and detectable warnings assisting pedestrians who are blind or visually

impaired are often installed in indoor or outdoor pedestrian spaces. Other examples include audible

traffic signals and signals equipped with rotating tactile indicators which facilitated the interaction

of people with sight or hearing disabilities with other traffic.

Finally, the efforts to improve accessibility for the elderly population have been started to increase

over the past few decade. However, specifically targeted measures and research are still limited. As

health systems improve along with the economies, it is anticipated that life expectancy levels will

increase across the world and this will in turn increase the number and the proportion of the elderly

population. Global ageing will put increased economic and social demands on all countries. At the

same time, older people make a significant contribution to the function of a society which is often

ignored as they provide significant assistance in housework and childcare for many families

(Pettersson and Schmocker, 2010; WHO, 2002).

The society is aging rapidly and this has significant consequences on transport. Although older

people travel less than young people in the peak hours, the elderly now travel more than the elderly

in the past. As a result, the traffic will probably spread over a longer time period of the day. Ageing


55

also demands certain requirements in a transport system in the sense that safety, reliability and

accessibility criteria become more important (WHO, 2002).

The term ‘active ageing’ was introduced by the WHO in the late 1990s and is defined as “the process

of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life

as people age” (WHO, 2002, p.13). WHO provides four definitions related to active ageing; autonomy,

independence, quality of life and healthy life expectancy. Autonomy is defined as the ability of an

older person to control and make own decisions. Independence is defined as the ability to perform

daily functions. Quality of life is defined as an individual’s perception of his or her position in life in

the context of the culture they live, and healthy life expectancy is synonym to “disability free life

expectancy” (WHO, 2002).

Research shows that transport, both as the ability and the potential to travel, is perceived as a key

aspect of quality of life for older people. Mobility is a means of encouraging older people to

participate in community life, enhance their social interaction and reduce isolation. In addition,

provision of accessible transport for people of age with compromised mobility has a significant

contribution to barrier-free living for these groups (Pettersson and Schmocker, 2010; WHO, 2002).

3.11.3. Transport related social exclusion in developing countries

Poverty reduction continues to be the key challenge in urban areas across the developing world.

Almost one quarter of the world’s urban population is living in informal settlements. Lower income

households are disproportionately affected by the externalities generated by transport, including

road accidents and air pollution. At the same time, the levels of urban inequality in megacities are

exacerbated by increasing motorization and urban sprawl. Studies have identified three common

impacts of increasing private vehicle use on the urban poor. First, physical barriers such as roads

and bridges, or road traffic are limiting the opportunities for social interaction; second, traffic noise

and road safety pose psychological barriers; and third, there are long term social impacts on physical

and mental health and on economic resilience and productivity of communities whose

communication with other social groups and areas is continuously disrupted (Rode et al, 2014).

The new populations migrating to the megacities of the developing world, especially from poor rural

areas, are drawn by perceived chances of finding employment in the industrial or servicing sectors.

Many of those people are unable to find proper housing and turn to live in slum settlements8. For the

very poor urban populations in developing countries, the savings derived from living in informal

settlements are often spent on transport to workplace, educational, medical and retail destinations.

Travel can consume 25% or more of their daily wages in cities like New Delhi, Buenos Aires and

Manila, and as high as 30% in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Low income groups also spend significant

amount of their time travelling to and from work. For example, 20% of workers in Mexico City spend

more than three hours travelling to and from work each day (Cervero, 2013; Faiz Rashid, 2009).

Apart from having an impact on the urban form and the mobility patterns within a city, slums should

also be examined from a social exclusion point of view. Planning for adequate levels of accessibility

for slums not only facilitates the lives of the residents but also, in the long term, can contribute to

alleviating the long standing social exclusion of such areas and therefore increase the overall quality

of life in the megacities of the developing world. For example, in La Vega Barrio, Caracas one of

8Although the term informal settlement is often used instead of slum, it is considered that the former is not capturing the realities of residents living in slums. The absence of regulated housing structures does not imply that residents are living in slum conditions, or vice versa as some slum settlements, for example in Calcutta, are being regularized (Faiz Rashid, 2009).


56

Venezuela’s largest and oldest informal settlements, 30 pathways along the steep hillsides of the

neighbourhood were rehabilitated or built in order to improve access to jobs, schools and medical

facilities, as part of a major upgrading initiative.

In terms of gender, although substantial efforts to improve equality have been made in sectors such

as health and education, few attempts can be found in the transport sector. The differences in the

mobility needs between men and women are grounded in the gender based division of labour within

the family and the community. Despite the fact that men’s traditional role is to earn the biggest part

of their family’s income, women perform in parallel with employment other tasks such as

homemaking and childcare, which require the undertaking of shorter, more frequent and more

dispersed trips during the day. Accessibility to different modes of transport is therefore very

important for the quality of women’s lives.

Transport systems are not gender neutral either. Inadequate transport systems can restrict women’s

access to education, economic opportunities and healthcare. In many developing countries, such as

India, women face harassments in public transport which often leads them to stop using public

transport for safety reasons. In Bangladesh, female labour (mostly garment workers) heavily relies

on public transport to go to work. In many Asian megacities, women rely on various forms of cycle

rickshaws for shopping and taking children to school. In recent years, this form of NMT has been

banned from primary and arterial roads, in some cases like Jakarta and New Delhi across the entire

city. This is had a disproportionately negative impact on the mobility of women and increased their

exclusion from social activities. These countries have been attempting to include gender specific

measures in public transport by providing separate space for women in vehicles.

Within the developing world, the provision of services for disabled people is still often seen as a

welfare function of the state and of civil society. The human rights approach to disability, in terms of

which every citizen has the right to be included in social and economic opportunities, is slowly

gaining acceptance. Some developing countries, particularly in Latin America and Asia, have applied

this approach to transport, taking some significant first steps towards improving the mobility and

access of people with disabilities (Venter et al, 2002).

In order to improve the accessibility and mobility opportunities for disabled people, actions should

focus on four key areas: policy and legislation, advocacy and planning, vehicle and infrastructure

solutions, and training and awareness. In terms of legislation and policy, the United Nations’

Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 1994,

provide an international framework within which advocates and legislators can address disability

issues. Improved access and mobility are important factors in reducing poverty and can facilitate the

participation of people with disabilities in economic, social and political processes. However, major

obstacles remain to translate accessibility policies into the provision of inclusive transport.

Inadequate monitoring and enforcement of compliance with existing accessibility legislation is

widely cited as the key impediment to providing inclusive transport in developing countries. In most

cases, countries have adopted inclusive policies and specific regulations regarding the accessibility

of people with disabilities, which are not enforced (Venter et al, 2002; World Bank, 2004).

Advocacy and planning are key factors contributing to the recognition of the fact that access for

people with mobility difficulties and disabilities is a human right. Training and awareness are closely

related as they contribute to the acceptance of policy and measures by the public. Policies and

measures range from providing appropriate training to public transport personnel to allowing


57

dedicated spaces on public transport and clear messages to other passengers about how important

this is. Concessions and door to door services are also important tools that can reduce the levels of

economic and geographical exclusion of people with disabilities (World Bank, 2004).

In terms of vehicle and infrastructure access, the private sector may not have sufficient incentives to

implement provisions for people with disabilities. In most cases, applying Western disability

standards and facilities to deliver access solutions and ensure universal access in transport systems

is not affordable or realistic for the provider or for the users in low income countries. Nonetheless, it

is not sufficient to ensure that everyone can enter and use basic transport services. It is equally

important to apply the principles of access for all to the street environment and to the design of the

buildings and other facilities that people use. In many situations low cost improvements such as

pavement and footway maintenance, kerb insets at street corners, ramps to public buildings, and

larger letters on bus destination signs can bring disproportionate benefits. Most interesting are

those interventions which bring benefits to all passengers, creating a win-win opportunity (World

Bank, 2004; Venter et al, 2002).

In terms of ageing population, the evidence coming from the developing world is even more limited.

Worldwide the proportion of the population of people over the age of 60s growing faster than any

other age group and it is expected that by 2050 there will be 20 billion people aged over 60, with

80% of them living in developing countries. In terms of regions, over half of the world’s population

above 60 lives in Asia, a share that will continue to increase. On the other hand, Europe’s share as a

proportion of global population over 60 will decrease the most until 2025 (WHO, 2002).

Compared to the developed world, socioeconomic development in developing countries has often

not kept pace with the rapid speed of population ageing. For example, while it took France 115 years

for the proportion of people above the age of 60 to increase from 7% to 14%, it will take China only

27 years to achieve the same increase. Gradual population ageing for the developed world meant

that countries grew affluent before they became old, while rapid ageing for the developing world

means that these countries will grow old before they accumulate substantial wealth. Rapid ageing in

developing economies is accompanied by dramatic changes in structures and roles as well as labour

patterns and migration. Urbanization, smaller families and more women entering the formal labour

force mean that fewer people will be available to take care of older people when they need

assistance (WHO, 2002).

Official planning for the ageing population is usually absent. Older people’s mobility is usually

restricted and they rely heavily on their families for help. However, it should be noted that the social

solidarity levels in developing world megacities are often higher than in their developed

counterparts. Despite the fact that family structures are gradually changing, caring for the elderly is

deeply embedded in the cultures and the traditions of many developing countries. Similarly, social

solidarity is stronger between neighbours and friends. This does not mean that planning for the

mobility of the elderly should be ignored because the society can cater for them. On the contrary,

planning authorities can take advantage of these pre-existing social structures to improve the

accessibility for socially excluded groups, through ridesharing, or task sharing programmes. Such

initiatives have been proven successful in rural areas in the UK, organized or supported by local

authorities.


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3.12. Human Dimension of Cities


There are direct connections between improvements for people in the city space and visions for

achieving lively, safe sustainable and healthy cities. According to the architect Luis Kahn, the street is

one of the city’s first institutions and rooms where people live, learn, shop, and work. The street is a

powerful symbol of the public realm and provides opportunities for social interaction that no other

public space can. Streets as public spaces and their contribution to urban prosperity were

recognized by the United Nations with the Cities Prosperity Initiative which was established in 2012.

The Cities Prosperity Initiative is a strategic policy initiative for cities that are committed to adopting

a more holistic, people cantered and sustainable notions of prosperity and that are willing to deploy

necessary efforts and resources to move forward in the prosperity path based on their specific local

conditions (Kahn, 1971; UN, 2013a).

It is suggested that sustaining the human dimension in transport planning will in turn sustain the

quality of life and culture of cities that is rooted in and shaped by their history and identity.

Particularly in the context of Islamic megacities, it is very important to preserve local identities and

maintain the balance among local and global values, global mobility and global consumption

patterns (Kunzmann, 2004). In this part, starting from the role of streets, we examine the initiatives

and efforts of developed and developing cities to incorporate the human dimension and the human

participation in transport and urban planning.

3.12.2. Human dimension of developed cities

The expansion of cities in the developed world has been accompanied by changes in land use, both in

terms of form as well as structure. Streets as public spaces lost their importance in terms of their

share of land and their prominent role in shaping the culture and history of cities. Land allocated to

streets in economically developed cities is much lower in suburban areas than in the city core. On

average, most cities have more than 25% of land allocated to streets in their cores while in suburban

areas it is less than 15%. In many cities, the human dimension has been neglected as street space is

primarily allocated to automobile movement. On the other hand, low densities are accompanied by

poor connectivity of streets in suburban areas that limits the opportunities for social interaction

(UN, 2013a).

However, there is an increasing concern for the human dimension of city and transport planning that

reflects a distinct and strong demand for better urban quality. A notable example is the New York

City Plaza Programme which forms part of the city’s effort to ensure that all New Yorkers live within

a 10 minute walk from a quality open space. According to New York’s Department of Transportation

(NYC DOT), streets make up approximately 25% of the New York’s land area and yet, outside of

parks there are few places to sit, rest, socialize, and to enjoy public life. NYC DOT is currently aiming

to create neighbourhood plazas throughout the City to transform underused streets into social

public spaces. As part of the NYC Plaza Programme, eligible non-profit organizations can propose

new plaza sites for their neighbourhoods through a competitive application process. DOT prioritizes

sites that are in neighbourhoods that lack open space, and partners with community groups that

commit to operate, maintain, and manage these spaces so they are vibrant pedestrian plazas. For the

selected sites DOT funds the design and construction of the plaza and assists partners in developing

a conceptual design appropriate to the neighbourhood, using to the community input through public

visioning workshops (NYC DOT, 2015).


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The creation of Times Square Plaza is probably the most high profile action that forms part of this

programme. Over a six month pilot during the summer of 2009, temporary paving and street

furniture were used to close the streets around Times Square, aiming to improve safety and air

quality. The project proved to be a huge success and NYC DOT is now preparing to make permanent

the public space enhancements that were installed as part of the pilot. In addition, the air quality

around Times Square improved dramatically after the creation of the plaza. The concentrations of

Nitrogen Oxide (NO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), two pollutants closely associated with traffic, were

among the highest in the city. After the conversion to a pedestrian plaza, NO pollution levels in Times

Square went down by 63% while, NO2 levels went down by 41% (Bloomberg, 2011).

Along with government initiatives, other movements and initiatives led by non-profit organizations,

planners, academics and citizens that are encouraging communities to reclaim their streets,

participate in civic life make a difference in the way public spaces look, function and feel. An example

is the Streets as Places initiative, led by Project for Public Spaces, an international non-profit

planning, design and educational organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public

spaces that build stronger communities. Streets as Places seeks to engage citizens, planners and the

transportation industry in the US to transform the design and construction of public streets into

places that improve the quality of human life and the environment rather than simply move vehicles

from place to place (Project for Public Spaces, no date).

3.12.3. Human dimension of developing cities

In most cities of the developing world there are not enough streets and those that exist are either not

well designed or well maintained. In most city cores, less than 15% of land is allocated to streets and

the situation is worse in the suburbs where less than 10% of land is allocated to streets. In the case

of poor areas and slums, however, the concepts of walkability and social interaction in streets are

not applicable. While in developed regions it is assumed that a walkable street is more attractive to

people for various reasons, and in fact, defines the “liveability” of a street, in slum areas of many

cities of the developing world walking on streets is not a choice, but a necessity due to lack of other

affordable transport alternatives (UN, 2013a).

Ironically, in the cities of the developing world, where rich people tend to live in gated communities,

the existence of well-planned and served streets does not imply social and cultural interactions

amongst neighbours. The relatively more walkable streets in high income areas do not encourage

people to use them, partly because walking is associated with poverty. Rich people will often use

their cars for the shortest trips, and thus it is not unusual to see empty streets and sidewalks in high

income areas (UN, 2013a).

Another common feature of housing areas with high population density and few economic resources

in megacities is that outdoor space has a particularly large bearing on living conditions. Where

possible, many ordinary activities are taking place outdoors, on streets, squares or other public

spaces. In many regions, culture, tradition and climate have contributed to extensive outdoor life

involving handcrafts, street exhibitors, street trade on sidewalks and street kitchens (Gehl, 2010). In

addition, in many cities of the developing as well developed world, street vending represents an

avenue for entrepreneurship. Streets are the starting point of businesses for immigrants because

they are cheaper to operate than established shops. All these features of daily life are threatened

daily by traffic and parking requirements. Public space is reduced and negatively affected by noise,

pollution and insecurity (UN, 2013a).


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Initiatives for redesigning streets as public spaces are taking place in cities in Africa, Asia and Latin

America on a smaller scale. The most notable examples come from Latin America and cities like

Bogota, Mexico City and Sao Paulo. Local government initiatives along with collective citizen actions

are supporting design measures to enhance the pedestrian environment such as expanding

sidewalks, planting trees and installing benches and other seating. All these initiatives have a

common set of objectives to enhance environmental sustainability, social interaction, public health,

productivity and social inclusion, all key components of urban prosperity (UN, 2013a). Examples of

collective actions include the Colombian independent national initiative “La Cuidad Verde” that

promotes sustainability in cities by organizing educational events, maintaining cycle lanes and

pedestrian crossing and raising awareness on the benefits of cycling and the safety issues cyclists are

facing (La Cuidad Verde, 2015).


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4. 3 OIC Case Studies Review

4.1. Jakarta

4.1.1. Urban background

Daerah Khusus Ibukota/DKI (Capital Special Region) Jakarta, after this will be indicated as Jakarta, is

the capital of Indonesia and it has ‘provincial government level’ status. The metropolitan area of

Jakarta consists of the agglomerations of the following regencies/cities:

Table 5: List of regencies/cities in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area

Province Regency/City

DKI Jakarta Province North Jakarta City

South Jakarta City

Central Jakarta City

East Jakarta City

West Jakarta City

West Java Province Bogor Regency

Bekasi Regency

Bogor City

Bekasi City

Depok City

Banten Province Tangerang Regency

Tangerang City

South Tangerang City

In short, the metropolitan area is also called Jabodetabek, taken from the initial letters of the

administrative units of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. Based on the Population

Census 2010, the population of the Jabodetabek Metropolitan Area was 28 million, which makes it

the largest metropolitan area in South East Asia. The population of Jakarta in 2013 was 10.1

million9.

The annual population growth of Jakarta between 1980 and 1990 was 2.4%, and dropped to 0.2%

between 1990 and 2000, which was most likely due to the success of the Family Planning

Programme. Between 2000 and 2005 the population growth reached 1.1% annually. In the last

decade, the population of Jakarta has been increasing by approximately 4.5% per year. Currently, the

population density is more than 15,000 people/km2.


The population growth of Jakarta results in the growth of travel demand. Transport problems occur

when the road network is insufficient to meet the increasing traffic demand. As an illustration, the

number of registered vehicles in Jakarta increases by 11% per year, while the road capacity

increases by only 1% per year. Currently, the road network in Jakarta accounts for 6.3% of the total

area of Jakarta (as comparison, this number is 24% for Paris and 21% for London).

Toll roads (see Figure 2 for the existing and planned toll roads in Jakarta) have helped to relieve

urban traffic congestion in the city, but internal traffic circulation is still in need of improvement: a

9Jakarta Transportation Agency in Figures, 2013.


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poorly developed sub-arterial network, interference from roadside activities, and mixed traffic

remain as causes of delay and reduced capacity. As one of the strategies indicated in the Transport

Master Plan Jakarta10, road capacity will be increased by constructing new roads or expanding the

current ones.

Figure 2: Existing (solid line) and planned (dash line) toll-highway network

Source: Jakarta Transportation Agency in Figures, 2013

The direct result that cannot be avoided is traffic congestion, which has been a chronic problem

faced in the Jabodetabek region and the situation is expected to worsen should there be no

improvement of any kind made on the existing transportation system. At present, the congestion

cost of Jakarta is estimated at USD 3.4 billion per year, which consists of energy waste, vehicle

operational cost, time value, economic value and external environmental costs (Adiwianto, 2010).

World Bank (2001) in Somuyiwa (2010) also pointed out on-the-road congestion costs in five major

cities including Jakarta. Decrease in travel speed and deteriorating travel environment for

pedestrians and people powered vehicles, due to the inefficiency of the entire road transport system,

Jakarta experienced an average one way journey to work of about one and quarter hours or more.

In order to reduce congestion, the Government of Jakarta has developed bus rapid transit (BRT)

system in Jakarta (called TransJakarta), the first high quality public transport in Jakarta and

Indonesia that has been in operation since 2004. It started with one corridor in 2004, it has now 12

corridors, which make it the world's longest bus rapid transit route. By 2020, this BRT network will

be complemented by a North – South Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) corridor. Figure 3 presents the

existing and planned public transport network in Jakarta until 2020.

10The Jakarta Transport Master Plan indicates three main strategies: (1) Public Transport Development; (2) Traffic Restriction; and (3) Road Network Capacity Increase.


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Figure 3: Existing and planned public transport network in 2020


Based on interviews with experts in Jakarta, even though the planned development of public

transport network will meet its target in 2020, it will only slightly reduce the traffic congestion of

Jakarta as long as demand for road space is still high. To reduce congestion, expanding transport

options may need to be complemented by other initiatives like congestion pricing to discourage the

use of cars and a shift towards compact and mixed-use development.


The urban structure of Jabodetabek is polycentric with Jakarta as the main centre for governmental

and commercial activities. Tangerang and Bekasi Regencies are concentrated as industrial areas. For

residential areas, many satellite cities have been developed to support Jakarta, such as Tangerang

City, South Tangerang City, Depok City and Bekasi City.

This implies that suburbanization has rapidly preceded and population has spread out in Bodetabek

area to seek better life quality, housing circumstance and environment and/or look for cheaper place

of housing due to increasing land price in Jakarta. The population migration toward suburban areas

has generated longer daily commuting trips between residence and workplace and has put much

burden on the existing transport infrastructure and environment. In 2013, 25.7 million trips per day

were taking place in Jabodetabek, and almost 19 million of these trips took place in the central area

of Jakarta (see Figure 4). These trips were performed by cars (24%), motorcycles (51%) and public

transport (25%).

Since Jabodetabek’s urban structure is changing rapidly and dynamically, the urban transport

system serving Jakarta and the surrounding areas has not been expanded in a way that keeps pace

with urban development growth. As a consequence, worsening traffic congestion, overcrowded

buses and trains, and an increase in air pollution have been catalysed.


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Figure 4: Daily trips in and to Jakarta in 2013


Another important issue is the nonexistence of an authority that coordinates transportation

developments for Jabodetabek. The national government is currently at the stage of establishing

Otoritas Transportasi Jabodetabek (Jabodetabek Transportation Authority) to coordinate plan,

implement and monitor transportation developments in Jabodetabek. One of the tasks will be

developing new trajectories for land public transport modes such as heavy rail and buses. Many

experts are pessimistic about the success of this programme. There have been several attempts to

form such an institution in the past, but they have failed due to the strong political tensions among

provincial governments as the real authority lies with each provincial and local government in the

Jabodetabek area.

4.1.4. Mode availability and shares

In 2013, there were 25.7 million trips per day in Jabodetabek and more than 50% of the trips were

made by motorcycles.

Figure 5: Modal share in Jabodetabek in 2013


50,8%

23,9%

25,3%

Motorcycles

Private cars

Public transport


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4.1.5. Private motorized transport

In 2013, there were 9.2 million private vehicles in Jakarta. Of these, around 3 million (33%) were

cars and 6.2 million (67%) were motorcycles. This number increases by 8% on average per year. As

described above, private vehicles account for 75% of the modal share in Jakarta. The high share of

private vehicles is also caused by regulated and heavily subsidized fuel prices by the government.

The low price of petrol has led to fuel not being valued by consumers and so widespread waste is

endemic.

For many reasons, fuel subsidy is considered to be a bad policy as it appears to disproportionately

favour the wealthy who have more cars, which is the case in Indonesia. However, in Indonesia, fuel

price strongly affects prices of everyday goods in general. Therefore, increasing fuel price affects the

poor the worst, because they barely have enough money to buy basic needs. Attempts to reduce fuel

subsidy are usually met with big protests by the general population.

Motorcycles have the highest mode share of all transport modes in Jakarta, due to the following

reasons:

- no proper public transport

- ease to manoeuvre through congested roads

- ease to get financed to lease a motorcycle (with a down payment of as little as USD 30)

- low operational and maintenance costs (monthly cost of motorcycles is 38% cheaper than

that of using public transport)

- important for status and image

Currently, there is no policy applied with a goal to reduce the private vehicles ownership rate in

Jakarta. Such policy is under the authority of the Central Government and they will not simply take

the easy way out to tackle this issue. Accounting for around 7% of the country’s gross domestic

product, the automotive and supporting industries are one of the most important sectors in

Indonesia’s story of economic growth. Castrating the automotive industry also means putting

millions of jobs in jeopardy.

The yearly increase of the number of private vehicles has therefore been accepted as a given

situation in Jakarta. As indicated in the Transport Master Plan (2007-2020), traffic restriction has

been and will be implemented to reduce the use of private vehicles and increase the use of public

transport. It includes four measures, i.e.

1. Motorized vehicles restriction in certain areas or certain time, e.g. 3 in 1 (minimum 3 occupants

per car) that has been implemented since 2003 (see Figure 6), and since 2014 motorcycles are

forbidden in certain Central Business District areas.

2. Electronic Road Pricing, which is currently being prepared to replace the 3 in 1 strategy that has

low effectiveness due to violations where car owners pay people to reach the minimum car

occupancy.

3. Parking strategy: currently Jakarta does not have a concrete and strict parking strategy yet.

Parking fees in Jakarta are the second lowest worldwide, which encourages people to use their

cars.

4. Provision of Park and Ride facilities at public transport terminals, which has been started since

the operation of TransJakarta.


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Figure 6: Traffic sign before entering 3 in 1 area

Source: Consultant

4.1.5.1. Public transport

Public transport accounts for 25% of modal share in Jakarta. There are currently several types of

public transport in Jakarta:

- TransJakarta: a BRT system with dedicated infrastructure on most of the routes (12

corridors);

- TransJakarta Integrated Border Transport (TIBT): feeder bus services from cities around

Jakarta towards TransJakarta corridors (11 routes);

- City buses: buses with level of service that depends on traffic situation, no dedicated routes,

timetable and stops, and operated with large, medium and small vehicles;

- Kopaja and Metromini: economy minibus systems that provide important services for

Jakarta commuters with numerous routes throughout the city;

- Commuter Rail Line (KRL): a commuter light rail system that serves commuters from the

surrounding cities of Jakarta.

Apart from these, there are also unofficial transport systems such as Bajaj (Auto rickshaw) that

provides local transportation in the back streets of some parts of the city as it is not allowed to enter

the arterial roads, and Ojek (Motorcycle taxi) that is very much used as a solution to deal with the

crowded urban roads and narrow alleyways. Figure 7 presents various public transport modes that

are currently available in Jakarta.

Despite various public transport services offered, the current public transport system in Jakarta

cannot meet the transport demand; as a result, it has not been able to alleviate the acute traffic

congestion. The number of passengers grows faster than the number of public transport vehicles.

This creates uncomfortable journeys for the passengers, which makes them choose private vehicles.

TransJakarta is the only urban public transport service that offers comfort through (mostly)

dedicated infrastructure, timetable and convenient stops. However, the aforementioned supply issue

also degrades the level of service of TransJakarta. TransJakarta is facing the following main

problems: (1) Too few buses to serve the demand which results in constant overcapacity. Currently,

TransJakarta transports 350,000 passengers per day; (2) Too few gas stations for the buses; and (3)

TransJakarta dedicated corridors are also used by private vehicles to avoid traffic jams.


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The current target to tackle this capacity issue is to extend the fleet as soon as possible and as many

as possible, to improve the bus shelters with passenger information system, and to sterilize the

dedicated bus way corridors from the illegal use of other modes.

Figure 7: Public transport modes in Jakarta Clockwise (from top-left): TransJakarta, Kopaja,

Metromini, Commuter Rail Line, Bajaj, Ojek


The low level of service also occurs in other public transport modes. City buses, for example, are old

(operating for 30 years in general) of which some do not even have speedometers or proper brake

systems causing many traffic accidents in Jakarta.


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The mass transit that has seen a major change since 2013 is the KRL. Electronic ticketing system, low

fares and a more comfortable journey due to the banning of sellers in the trains, has successfully

attracted commuters who used to use private cars for their work journey to Jakarta.

Many parties believe that improving the level of service of the current mass transit system will not

alleviate the traffic congestion of Jakarta. Therefore, the following transit systems has been planned

for Jakarta:

1. Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)

In 2008, a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project is started, where a $1.6 billion loan agreement with

the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been secured for funding. This

flagship project will be the nation’s first modern urban railway system and it will have North-

South and East-West lines.

The first MRT track (15.7 km), which is currently under construction, will connect South Jakarta

and Central Jakarta with 13 (elevated and underground) stations and a capacity of 173,000

passengers per day, which is targeted to be in operation in 2018. The second track (8.1 km) from

Central Jakarta to North Jakarta is targeted to be in operation in 2020. The East-West line is

currently at the stage of feasibility study and is targeted to be in operation in 2027. The

following figure shows the planned routes of MRT Jakarta.

Figure 8: MRT Jakarta route network

Source: MRT Jakarta, 2015

2. Light Rail Transit (LRT)

When this report is being written, the ground-breaking has been done for the two of the seven

planned LRT routes (see Figure 9 for the planned routes). These routes are not indicated in both

PTM and the Jakarta spatial planning documents.


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Figure 9: Planned LRT routes

Source: Detik Finance, 14 July 2015

4.1.5.2. Non-motorized transport

NMT modes in Jakarta include walking and cycling. NMT policies have a low priority in the

transportation development of Jakarta. Compared to road network expansion for motorized traffic,

the attention given to NMT infrastructure is very minimum. Available sidewalks are mostly taken by

street vendors or used for parking lots (see Figure 10). This causes pedestrians to walk on the road

and share the road with motorized transport users who mostly do not respect the pedestrians as

they think that the roads are provided for motorized traffic.

Well maintained sidewalks only exist in CBD areas where traffic enforcement is strong (no street

vendors and on street parking allowed). The Government realizes the importance of proper NMT

infrastructure as a measure to reduce the use of motorized vehicles, reduce traffic accidents and

increase road capacity. Even though the Jakarta Transport Master Plan (2007) gives development

directions for NMT infrastructure network and facilities (pedestrian walkways, crossing facilities,

cycling infrastructure and cycle parking), until now there is no significant increase in the

development of the NMT network in Jakarta. 86 km of cycle paths are planned and currently 8.6 km

has been constructed. However, due to weak law enforcement, the cycle paths are also used by

motorcycle users who want to avoid traffic jams especially during the rush hours, and push away the

cyclists who use the paths.


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Figure 10: Footways used as car parking and by street sellers

Source: Consultant

One of the reasons why the Government gives low priority to NMT is because it seems that there is

no demand for the NMT network, that everybody uses their cars, motorcycles or public transport.

However, public transport users are NMT users who perform their last mile on foot. Furthermore,

very few people are walking or cycling because there is no proper and safe NMT infrastructure.

4.1.6. Freight and servicing

Freight transport in Jakarta relies heavily on road transport, especially freight truck movement from

and to the Tanjung Priok Port in the north of Jakarta using city arterial roads. The areas around the

port are heavily congested as there is no dedicated network for freight transport yet. This causes

several problems such as traffic congestion in the inner city highways, inefficient use of road space,

noise and air pollution, road safety and road damage. Since 2011, the Government of Jakarta has

been implementing operational time restriction for freight vehicles in the city (access allowed only

in the evening). Currently, a direct highway access to the Port is under construction with a goal that

most of the freight vehicles will not use arterial roads and use the new highway instead.

Figure 11: Freight movement from and to Port of Tj. Priok



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4.1.7. Road safety

In 2013-2014, there were on average 3,500 traffic accidents happened per year in Jakarta or around

10 cases per day. Of this, around 300 people died per year or 1.12 people died in traffic accidents

every day in Jakarta. In 70% of the cases, motorcyclists were involved and they also account for 60%

of the fatalities. Their behaviour on the roads (such as not obeying traffic signs, tend to do anything

to escape from the traffic jam and low skill at operating a motorcycle) explains this data.

Public transport also contributes significantly to the number of traffic accidents in Jakarta. Reckless

driving, haphazard stops in improper areas, and a general disregard for road rules are only a few of

the driving concerns.

For car users, there are still many aspects that need to be enforced. Safety belts for drivers and the

passenger in the front is obligatory, but not for other passengers. There is no regulation about child

seats and about the limit of alcohol level in blood. There are regulations about penalty for traffic

violence and mobile phone use in the traffic, but law enforcement is still weak.

4.1.8. Institutions and organizational structure

Several ministries of the central government and two levels of local governments in the Jakarta

Metropolitan Area except for the 5 cities under DKI Jakarta Province have transport department that

plays a role as Transport Authority.

In the case of road construction, jurisdiction is determined by type of roads such as national roads,

provincial roads and roads under regency/city. However, all the currently operating railway lines

are operated by a sole state-owned railway operator in Indonesia, PT. Kereta Api Indonesia, under

the jurisdiction of the central government. In terms of buses, inter-provincial buses are licensed by

the central governments, and inter-city buses are licensed by the provincial government in principle.

Bus route licenses within a regency/city are issued by the regency/city government. However, buses

between DKI Jakarta province and the other two provinces in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area can be

licensed by the provincial governments. This significantly increases the number of stakeholders of

the transportation sector.

Due to the connection between Jakarta and its peripheries, solving transport problems in Jakarta

must take transport developments of the surrounding regencies and cities into account. Integrated

planning is crucial. Therefore, a single transport authority for the Jakarta Metropolitan Area, which

is currently still absent, needs to be formed. Until this report is written, the forming of Otoritas

Transportasi Jabodetabek/OTJ (Jabodetabek Transportation Authority) is being discussed with the

President. The establishment of this authority aims to tackle transportation problems of not only

Jakarta but also other regions within Jabodetabek area. Furthermore, this authority is hoped to be

able to remove administration/bureaucratic and institutional obstacles that have been hindering

many attempts to create a robust transportation system.

4.1.9. Urban transport infrastructure financing

As described before, pertinent transport problems in Jakarta are mainly caused by a lack of quantity

and quality of transport infrastructure that cannot cope up with the rapid motorization increase.

This situation demands the Jakarta government to continuously provide transport infrastructure

and facilities. According to the World Bank (2010), Indonesian government can only cover 30% of

total investment need for its infrastructure program and is relying on state-owned enterprises and


72

private investors for the rest. Therefore, extra government effort is required to enable private

funding, which mainly through PPP. The Indonesian government has had a pro-PPP policy since the

early 2000s. A state owned company, called PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur, was established to

facilitate the cooperation between the government and private parties in financing infrastructure

projects in Jakarta including transportation infrastructure.

Private participation is strongly influenced by a conducive investment climate and - although

improving - Indonesia is struggling to provide such an environment. The legal framework involving

land acquisition has been a serious obstacle for transport infrastructure projects to materialize and

makes investors hesitant to invest. Recently, steps to improve the land situation have been taken. In

2012, the government and parliament approved the new Land Acquisition Law that is regarded to

speed up the land acquisition process notably as it deals with the revocation of land rights to serve

public interest, puts time limits on each procedural phase and ensures safeguards for land-right

holders. Both government and PPP projects on state-owned land are protected by this bill.

Furthermore, to provide more assurance for private investors, the government has established

the Indonesia Infrastructure Guarantee Fund (IIGF). This institution gives certain guarantees against

infrastructure risks for projects under the PPP scheme.

Another obstacle is capability. Generally speaking, government bodies do not have the experienced

staff needed to properly prepare infrastructure projects for tender. This includes making sure they

are economically viable and are evaluating and managing the many project risks. This problem is

even more serious when complex finance is involved, as in the case of a PPP. TransJakarta is one of

the PPP success stories in Indonesia. The infrastructure provision of TransJakarta is fully financed by

Jakarta Provincial Government, while ticketing system, bus procurement and operation are financed

by private parties. Apart from PPP schemes, several transport infrastructure projects in Jakarta are

funded by multilateral organizations. As discussed above, multilateral agencies and bilateral donors

have been playing an important role in financing infrastructure projects throughout the developing

world as part of their commitment to sustainable transport. This is also the case for Jakarta. Jakarta

MRT, for example, is largely being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

4.1.10. Health

4.1.10.1. Air quality and pollution

Fast urbanization and industrialization in Indonesia have produced severe air pollution problems,

predominantly in Jakarta as the economic centre. Motorized vehicles are regarded as the main

sources of air pollution, and contribute to 80% of air pollution in Jakarta. Rapid increase of the

vehicles does not only increase the total emission amount in proportion to the number of vehicles,

but also the unit emission amount at an exponential rate by slowing down travel speed with the

congestion.

Levels of particulate matter (PM10), or large particle dust, carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen

dioxide (NO2)—which already far exceed limits set by the World Health Organization—rose by

between 40% and 85% respectively in 2011.

As the most significant source of PM10 emission, diesel vehicles are targeted as they account for

over 80% of PM10 emitted from vehicles while they provide less than 30% of total road

transportation (Asri and Hidayat, 2005), and the most emitting vehicle type is truck, followed by

large bus which generates 33 times and 22 times as much emission as a passenger car respectively.

http://www.iigf.co.id/Website/AboutIIGF.aspx?rowid=11


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Therefore, the PM10 emission control on these heavy duty diesel vehicles is most effective and

should be placed the highest priority on to the chronic air pollution. Meanwhile, other studies show

that more than 50% of Jakartans have experienced illnesses related to air pollution. To address this

issue, the Government began emissions checks in 2007 and to date only heavy duty diesel vehicles

(public transport bus and truck) have to undergo regular emission tests.

Such efforts to manage and improve air quality have been hampered by poor regulations, weak

enforcement, capacity and a lack of reliable information. Implementation has been marred allegedly

by fraud, resulting in urban transportation with high emission levels.

4.1.10.2. Physical activity

High motorization and poor provision of NMT network in Jakarta lead to high dependency of

Jakartans on motorized vehicles to perform their mobility even for a short distance. As such, there

are very few physical activities involved in their regular journeys.

4.1.11. Climate change

Jakarta is located close to the sea’s edge and therefore vulnerable to rising sea levels and has

constantly been at risk of flooding. Uncontrolled development of upland regions and the growing

wealth of Jakarta’s citizens lead to new high quality residential areas at the expense of small lakes,

putting the city under permanent risk of flooding. Many environmentalists, ecologists, moralists and

sociologists recount how Jakarta’s rapid increase in population gives rise to a demand for housing,

living space and other human necessities, without paying attention to social ethics.

Risk of global warming, rising sea levels and climate change faced by world megacities is also

contributed by an unsustainable transport sector. 23% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

from fuel combustion are transport related and these are expected to increase 57% worldwide in the

period 2005– 2030 (ADB, 2009). Asia counts for more than 50% of this global increase and Jakarta

as a megacity in Asia, plays an important role in it. One of the measures to reduce CO2 emissions is by

shifting transport to modes with intrinsically low carbon emission per unit of transport provided.

Jakarta has done this in the last decade with its TransJakarta that has demonstrated that rapid

increase in ridership results in lower CO2 emissions per passenger kilometres delivered. Even

though the development of TransJakarta is more for the reasons of solving transport problems

rather than climate change as a direct objective.

The use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for TransJakarta fleet also positively contributes to the

environment, although the number of the buses fleet is much lower than the total number of private

vehicles and other public transport buses in Jakarta that use gasoline or diesel. Use of electric

vehicles in Jakarta is currently not an option yet as the electricity network and capacity do not

support a smooth supply.

4.1.12. Social exclusion

4.1.12.1. Ageing population

The world trend of ageing population is not applicable for Jakarta. People in the age category of more

than 65 years account only 3.5% of the total population. However, this group accounts for the

highest percentage number of people with mobility limitations. To date, there is no data available

about the mobility pattern of this group which can explain the absence of special policies and

facilities for them in the transport sector. The Government argues that there is too little demand to


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provide facilities for disabled people since due to cultural circumstances, they feel ashamed to go out

with their wheel chair.

Only TransJakarta has been trying to provide facilities for disabled people by providing ramps at

most of the stops. Some stops are equipped with lifts, but most of them are not maintained due to

ownership problems. As part of the Standard Operational Procedure, officers of TransJakarta will

help if there are disabled people who want to board the bus. However, these measures are not

effective since there is almost no disabled people who use the bus.

Based on interviews with several experts, the problem lies in the access of disabled people from

home to the public transport stops. Most sidewalks do not have ramps. Therefore, the solution to

this problem is NMT policy.

4.1.12.2. Gender

An estimated 37.5% of all working age women

in Indonesia are engaged in paid work in

Jabodetabek. The physical separation of living

areas from working areas has led to increasing

travel distances with high costs in time and

fares. Given the double burden of earning a

living and caring for the family, the time and

reliability of transport systems is very

important to women. As mentioned before, KRL

is the main mode used by commuters who work

in Jakarta and this mode has introduced special

compartments for women to reduce sexual

harassment to women in public transport. This

measure has also been implemented in

TransJakarta especially in the articulated buses where the front part of the bus is dedicated for

women.

To date, there is no data yet about the rate of sexual harassments on women in public transport. Due

to cultural sensitivity as it is considered as a taboo subject, women who have experienced a sexual

harassment may not have space to complain such circumstances and decide not to report it to the

police (The Jakarta Post, 2014a; The Jakarta Post, 2014b).

4.1.12.3. Urban poor

It is worldwide accepted that a transport system should facilitate access of the poor to urban

markets, services and economic opportunities. The low fares of KRL for example, are deliberately

subsidized in order to maintain affordability of this mode for low income travellers and large

sections of the middle income population who are engaged in long distance commutes to commercial

and business activities in the centre of Jakarta.

In many literatures, TransJakarta as a BRT system is also argued to benefit the lower income

population as it provides cheap and fast transportation. TransJakarta uses one flat fare regardless of

the distance and 70% of the fare per passenger is subsidized by the Government. However,

according to a research done by Wentzel (2010), the use of the BRT among low income residents is

low as the BRT did not embrace low income users according to its destinations. Transport costs

Figure 12: A special compartment for women in the front part of Commuter Rail Line


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might also have a significant impact in the use as many low income users do not have a BRT stop

within reasonable a walking distance from home.

This finding can be related to the study done by ITDP (2014), where the accessibility of residents of

Kampungs (urban villages with informal housings) along the main BRT routes is researched. One of

the Kampungs researched is Kebon Kacang. The residents could have walked to access the BRT stops

of corridor 12, but their access is completely blocked by office and commercial buildings in this

Financial District area. They need to make a detour to access the stops, which will be more likely

done by a motorcycle due to the distance and motorcycles are restricted in this area during the day.

Eventually, they choose motorcycles over public transport.

Figure 13: Situation of Kebon Kacang area

Source: Consultant

4.1.13. Human dimension

The situation of Kebon Kacang described above also occurs in several Kampungs in Jakarta. The

kampung is associated with informality, poverty, and the retention of rural traditions within an

urban setting. Many experts argue the existence of kampungs and modern cities reflect spatial

segregation and socio-economic disparities. The poor are excluded by commercial concerns, which

shows that human dimension is neglected in urban planning and transport policies. If the residents

of those Kampungs had direct access to the BRT system, they would not be dependent on

motorcycles and the Kampung streets would have less motorized traffic which eventually could

create a more liveable place to live for the residents.


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High-rise buildings in the CBD areas close to Kampungs not only block the access of the residents to

public transport, but also create a clear physical segregation between low-income and high-income

areas. The consequences are increased income inequality, higher rates of unemployment and poor

health services due to lack of access to job networks and transportation.

Figure 14: Kampung and the modern city of Jakarta

Source: Consultant

4.1.14. Summary of the key points of the meetings

The five meetings and several short discussions during the data collection activities in Jakarta have

given deeper understanding of the transport problems, challenges and plans of Jakarta in addition to

the prior knowledge of the project team. Meetings were held with representatives of the Ministry of

Transportation (Legal and International Cooperation Bureau, and Department of Urban

Transportation System Development), Institute for Transportation & Development Policy Indonesia,

Research and Development Agency for the Ministry of Transport, Jakarta Transportation Agency

(JTA), and TransJakarta.

The key points of the meetings can be summarized as follows.

Traffic congestion

The main transport problem is pertinent traffic jams that cause much longer daily journey time to

work, especially for commuters from the peripheries, such as the City of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang

and Bekasi. This commute journeys are unavoidable due to the role of Jakarta as the main centre for

governmental and commercial activities and the role of the peripheries as settlement areas with few

employment opportunities.

In the last decade, the government has been restructuring the spatial structure by shifting

manufacturing activities from Jakarta to the periphery to reduce commute journeys to Jakarta.

However, this dynamic and rapid change of the urban structure is not supported by a well-planned

urban transport system. This situation has been worsening traffic problems in metropolitan Jakarta.


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Growth of vehicles number vs road capacity

Transport problems also occur when the road network is insufficient to meet the increasing traffic

demand. The development of new roads can never catch up to the growth rate of vehicle ownership.

A new highway or a widened road only alleviates traffic congestion for a short period of time. After a

few years, any new or widened highway fills with traffic that would not have existed if the highway

had not been built, a phenomenon called induced demand. Because of induced demand, neither

building new roads nor widening existing roads are viable long-term solutions to traffic congestion.

On the other hand, attempts to reduce the private vehicles ownership rate will not be an easy way

out. Accounting for around 7% of the country’s gross domestic product, the automotive and

supporting industries are one of the most important sectors in Indonesia’s story of economic growth.

Castrating the automotive industry also means putting millions of jobs in jeopardy.

Weak parking strategy

Currently Jakarta does not have a

concrete and strict parking

strategy yet. Parking fees in Jakarta

is the second lowest worldwide,

which encourage people to use

their cars. Furthermore, most of

the on street parking locations are

operated by individuals who do not

properly report the parking

revenue to the government,

causing massive ‘leak’ of

government’s revenue from

parking. Attempts to encourage

these individuals to work at off

street parking areas under official parking companies failed, due to much less income that they will

receive.

In January 2015, the government of Jakarta launched a parking meter system to reduce the revenue

leak. At the time preparing this report, there is no information yet about the effectiveness of this

system to achieve this goal. However, the low parking fare ($0.15 per hour for motorcycles and

$0.35 per hour for cars) still encourages people to use their private vehicles.

Public transport, poverty alleviation and gender issue

Besides alleviating congestion, a good public transport system is also believed by the interviewees as

a tool to reduce poverty and to facilitate access of the poor to urban markets, services and economic

opportunities. The one flat fare of TransJakarta ($0.15 in the off-peak hours and $0.26 in the peak

hours) and the low fares of KRL ($0.15 for the first 25 km and $0.08 for the next 10 km) are

deliberately subsidized in order to maintain affordability of this mode for low income travellers and

large sections of the middle income population who are engaged in commercial and business

activities in the centre of Jakarta.

Figure 15: A new parking meter in Jakarta


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Furthermore, TransJakarta and KRL are also the only public transport modes in Jakarta that

accommodate the special needs of women. Special compartments for women in TransJakarta

articulated buses and in KRL have been introduced in the last years to reduce sexual harassment to

women in public transport.

Neglected non-motorized transport (NMT) modes

NMT policies have a low priority in the transportation development of Jakarta. Compared to road

network expansion for motorized traffic, the attention given to NMT infrastructure is very minimum.

Available footpaths are mostly taken by street vendors or used for parking lots, causes pedestrian to

walk on the road and share the road with motorized transport users.

Even though the Jakarta Transport Master Plan (2007) gives development directions for NMT

infrastructure network and facilities (pedestrian walkways, crossing facilities, cycling infrastructure

and cycle parking), until now there is no significant increase in the development of NMT network in

Jakarta. 86 km of cycle paths are planned and currently 8.6 km has been constructed. However, due

to weak law enforcement, the cycle paths are also used by motorcycle users who want to avoid

traffic jam especially during the rush hours, push away the cyclists who use the paths.

Weak law enforcement

Traffic law enforcement in Jakarta is very weak, mainly caused by a corrupted bureaucracy. Small

amount of traffic fine that can be given directly to the traffic polices discourages drivers to obey the

traffic rules, worsening traffic jams and causing many road accidents. Many drivers do not possess a

driving license that makes their driving skill questionable. The driving license service is notorious

for corruption, with applicants wanting to skip the administrative process often bribing police

officer through middlemen.

Roles coordination of different institutions

The various meetings held also strengthen the prior assumption of the team concerning

coordination issues among different governmental institutions. Many policies of the Central

Government are often contradictory with the policies of the lower governmental levels. One of the

latest examples is the Low Cost Green Car (LCGC) program launched by the Ministry of Industry to

increase the automotive and supporting industries in Indonesia. The tax incentives applied to this

program has increased the affordability of the middle income class to purchase (more) cars, which

eventually encourage more people to use private cars on the Jakarta’s already congested roads. This

issue is considered to add more burdens to the lower institutional levels, such as Jakarta

Transportation Agency and TransJakarta, who have been working on reducing traffic congestions in

Jakarta.

Another example brought up in the meetings is the misuse of the TransJakarta bus way corridors.

According to JTA and TransJakarta, the bus way corridors may only be used by TransJakarta buses

and should be kept from other transport modes. However, in practice, the Traffic Police allows

private vehicles to use the corridors, especially when the corridors are not being used by

TransJakarta buses; to relieve the over congested roads during the peak hours.


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Absence of Jabodetabek Transport Authority

Despite its complication, there is no one authority that coordinates transportation developments for

Jabodetabek. Currently, the real authority lies with each provincial and local government in the

Jabodetabek area. An establishment of such institution to coordinate plan, implement and monitor

transportation developments in Jabodetabek (the so called Jabodetabek Transport Authority/JTA) is

currently under discussion even though such attempts in the past has failed due to the strong

political tensions among provincial governments as the real authority.

4.1.15. Planning documents currently adopted by Jakarta

The national, urban and transport strategies adopted for Jakarta can be summarized as follows.

Presidential Decree 48/2014 about adjustments of Presidential Decree 32/2011 about

Master Plan of Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia Economic Development

This national planning document determines a strategic direction in the acceleration and expansion

of Indonesia's economic development for the period of 2011 – 2025. This presidential decree

recognizes the Jabodetabek area as one of the main Indonesia’s development potentials that controls

60% of national export-import activities. The decree also recognizes the challenges that come along

with it, and that the main challenge is severe traffic congestion caused by lack of road capacity to

accommodate the vehicles traffic. In order to address this challenge, the following strategies are

determined:

a. spreading some business activities to outside Jakarta to reduce the travel quantity between

business centres in Jabodetabek;

b. developing non-road mass transport system for commute journeys;

c. developing intermodal mass transport network that accessible for business and

government activities;

d. developing efficient logistic network from industrial centres in peripheries and improving

access to Tanjung Priok Seaport and Soekarno Hatta Airport;

e. establishing a transport authority at the national level;

f. improving Soekarno Hatta Airport and Tanjung Priok Seaport;

g. improving rail-based mass transit network from peripheries to and inside DKI Jakarta;

h. developing road-based mass rapid transit (MRT) network;

i. improving road network.

DKI Jakarta Local Regulation 1/2012 about Spatial Planning 2030

The DKI Jakarta Spatial Planning 2030 contains macro policies of the Province of Jakarta and the

cities/regencies in the metropolitan area. Several strategies related to transportation system are:

a. developing an activity hub at mass public transport nodes through the Transit Oriented

Development (TOD) concept;

b. developing a mass public transport system as the backbone of the transport system by

developing road-based and rail-based mass transit and providing feeder transport

integrated with the mass transit system, in order to achieve a target of 60% public

transport mode share and of 35 km/hour average traffic speed;


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c. increasing road space to mitigate the severe traffic congestion and developing hierarchical

road networks to increase accessibility, followed by sound traffic management and traffic

restriction at certain activity areas;

d. providing safe and comfortable pedestrian and cycling routes, ensure the integration with

public transport system, and taking disable people needs into account;

e. improving parking system by gradually removing on street parking to increase the comfort

of road users (especially pedestrians) and to ease road congestion, promoting off street

parking and park and ride system;

f. developing an effective and efficient freight transport system by providing freight

terminals to support industrial estates and export-import activities;

g. improving the integration of water, air, and land transport systems;

h. integrating local, regional, national, and international transport systems;

i. developing international-scale port infrastructure.

Jakarta Transportation Master Plan 2007-2020

Jakarta Transportation Master Plan, or mostly called Pola Transportasi Makro (PTM), outlines the

general direction of transportation development and synchronises transport plans of each city and

regency in Jabodetabek. PTM recognises the complexity of transport problems in Jakarta in terms of

quality and quantity, and that a careful planning is needed in order to anticipate the increase of

transport demand in the future. Transport problems of Jakarta are reflected by severe and persisted

traffic congestion on almost all arterial roads, low quality public transport, and non-optimal and un-

integrated supporting system (bus terminals, train stations, seaport, airport, and road and toll-road

network).

Therefore, three main strategies (shown in the figure below) were developed in PTM to address

these problems:

1) Public transport development, which focuses on:

a. Improving rail-based mass transit by starting the construction of MRT, revitalising KRL and

planning rail service to the airport.

b. Developing Light Rail Transit (LRT) and monorail; LRT is currently at the initial stage of

construction while monorail plan is in the meantime already cancelled.

c. Improving TransJakarta busway by finishing the planned 15 corridors (12 corridors are

currently in operation), operating busway feeders, operating TransJakarta Integrated

Border Transport, and managing other road based public transport modes.

d. Improving waterways to be used as transport mode integrated with road-based public

transport modes.

2) Traffic restraint, which focuses on:

a. Motorized vehicles restriction, by implementing among others, 3 in 1 policy (minimum 3

occupants per car) in certain areas and at certain time and forbidding motorcycles to

entering Central Business District areas.

b. Electronic Road Pricing, a congestion charge applied to private vehicles on certain roads at

certain time which currently being prepared to replace the 3 in 1 policy.

c. Parking restraint.

3) Road network capacity extension, which focuses on:

a. Provision of Park and Ride facilities at public transport nodes.

b. Extending road network capacity by extending the current network and constructing

flyover and underpasses.


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c. Promoting pedestrianisation/non-motorized vehicles by providing pedestrian walkways.

d. Automatic Traffic Control System (ATCS) and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to

integrate road traffic and BRT system effectively and efficiently.

Figure 16: Three main strategies in Jakarta Transportation Master Plan

Source: Edited from: Presentation of TransJakarta Management Body in UN Forum on Climate Change Mitigation, 2010

In terms of institutional aspect, PTM also stresses the need for improving the coordination between

provinces, cities and regencies in Jabodetabek to improve transportation management and

integration by forming a Jabodetabek Transport Authority.

4.1.16. Discussion of the current situation of Jakarta

The spatial planning document was developed by taking into account the higher-level strategic

directions in the Master Plan of Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia Economic Development,

while the main transport plan document of Jakarta (PTM) was developed consistently with the

spatial planning document.

Looking at the current situation, several strategies has been or being implemented, such as:

- the construction of MRT track;

- extending TransJakarta corridors and the feeder modes;

- implementing motorized vehicles restriction policy at certain time to ease road congestions at

Central Business District areas;

- implementing ERP;

- providing Park and Ride facilities at public transport nodes;

- extending road network capacity;

- providing cycling network.

While other strategies are yet to be implemented, such as:

- parking regulation;

- providing pedestrian walkways;

- providing ATCS and ITS to integrate road traffic and BRT system effectively and efficiently;


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- establishing Jabodetabek Transport Authority.

The three afore-mentioned planning documents recognize the same main challenge faced by Jakarta,

i.e. severe traffic congestion. The plans and strategies to address this challenge, outlined by those

documents, are very comprehensive and integrated, taking all modes and road users into

consideration. However, there is one strategy that still needs to be strengthened in order to promote

the shift towards sustainable transport: parking regulation. In both spatial planning and transport

master plan documents, the parking strategy is only intended to reduce on street parking by

promoting off street parking in order to maximize road capacity and to ease congestion. This

strategy might be able to accomplish the aim of reducing congestion, but it does not target the real

problem, which is high motorized traffic. The effectiveness of a strong parking strategy has been

proven worldwide to reduce private vehicle use and to promote more sustainable modes (see §

4.2.16).

Despite the strategies that have been developed to achieve an ideal situation for transport system in

Jakarta and despite the strategies that have been implemented to date, there is no significant result

yet in reducing traffic congestion in Jakarta. It is most likely that the real challenge lies in the

mechanism of implementing the strategies. So far, the planning documents offer solutions only from

the supply side. In other words, reactive solutions, which has been proven worldwide as an

ineffective approach.

Jakarta needs a multi-sectoral approach that includes supply, demand, institutional, legal and spatial

planning in a simultaneous and comprehensive way. However, such an ideal approach will always be

challenged by technical, physical, legal, institutional and financial constraints. The lessons learnt

from developed countries show that institutional reform that leads to regulation and governance

reform is needed to solve transport problems. This includes a clear vision, commitment, consistency

and leadership from the decision makers in creating a sustainable city.

If this approach is translated to the situation in Jakarta, the following issues can be pointed out:

1. Ineffective and inefficient coordination among different institutions

Indonesia's bureaucracy is known to be long and complicated. This hampers a smooth

coordination between institutions and different governmental levels which is needed to

implement effective and efficient transport solutions. One example is the different institutions

responsible in the BRT system. TransJakarta Company is responsible for the operation and

Jakarta Transportation Agency is responsible for trajectory and routes. Meanwhile, pedestrian

bridge as access to the busway shelters and the road along the busway corridors are under the

authority of the Department of Public Works. Problems arise when these different institutions

are not on the same page when it comes to a commitment to improve the level of service of

TransJakarta.

2. Incorrect paradigm of mobility needs and congestion

In all planning documents discussed above, provision of a proper public transport system has

been pointed out as the first solution to tackle the congestion problem of Jakarta. While public

transport is a transport mode that needs to be provided by the government to address mobility

needs, regardless congestion problems. To address congestion then private vehicles need to be

restricted/reduced. Switching this paradigm reflects the same right of using roads between

private vehicle drivers and those who depend on public transport.


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3. Missing link with housing policies

In the planning documents, housing policies for Jakarta are hardly targeted and linked with

transportation policies. The 20 million day population and 11 million night population of

Jakarta illustrates a long travel distance performed by commuters who cannot afford the

exceptionally high housing price in Jakarta. Besides the policies of accommodating the

commuters’ journeys, the government should also find solutions to provide affordable housing

to meet the housing needs and eventually reduce the travel needs and promote NMT modes.

4.1.17. SWOT analysis

Based on the analysis of current situations, planning documents, field observations and interview

with the stakeholders described above, the following SWOT analysis for Jakarta can be summarized.

Table 6: SWOT table Jakarta

Strengths Political and economic capital Large population Centre of agglomeration area Government’s willingness to invest in the

transport sector

Weaknesses Pertinent traffic jams Poor public transport system, especially to

connect the peripheral areas and the centre of Jakarta.

Large area, large population and rapid growth are difficult to manage

High motorization Low recognition of NMT policy Shortage of electricity Poor regulations, weak law enforcement, and

lack of capacity Low urban poor inclusion Absence of single transport authority for the

metropolitan area

Opportunities Large population Robust economy Accommodates lots of economic headquarters Attractive for investment Many on-going transportation projects

Threats Insufficient transport infrastructure Weak technology and innovation Risk of climate change

Despite being a weakness as it is difficult to manage, the large population of Jakarta is also

considered to be strength and an opportunity. In terms of transport provision for instance, large

population can be directed to create high-density areas and TOD, which in turn can create cost

efficient transport provision. Large population also creates high levels of demand to support the

operations of mass transit system. This is also supported by the willingness of the national the

Jakarta provincial government to invest in the transport sector. This willingness is shown by the

government’s efforts to create a conducive environment for private investments. This can be seen in

the many transportation projects that are currently taking place in Jakarta. However these still

cannot cope up with the rapid motorization increase and high demand of public transport. Pertinent

traffic jams are therefore unavoidable. High motorization in Jakarta is not only caused by the

insufficient capacity of transport infrastructure and facilities, but also the fuel subsidy policy and the

weak parking regulation that encourage the use of private motorized vehicles.

Weak law enforcement and lack of institutional capacity are the main weaknesses that need to

overcome. The non-existence of a transport authority for the Jakarta Metropolitan Area is one


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example of low institutional capacity. The absence of such institution creates no clarity of the

responsibilities and role between Jakarta and the surrounding cities and regencies which in turn

creating un-integrated transport policies for the metropolitan area.

Jakarta is also facing several threats that can influence the sustainability of its urban transport. To

begin with, fuel price is heavily subsidized by the national government. Increase in the global oil

price means extra financial burden that can lower the capacity of the government to invest in the

transport sector. Jakarta as the centre of the biggest agglomeration area in Indonesia and Asia is one

of the strengths of Jakarta as it can attract many investments. However, it also creates a threat of

high in-migration from other cities that can cause uncontrolled urban sprawl. Finally, as is

experienced by other megacities, Jakarta is vulnerable for the climate change risks which are not

only caused by its geographical conditions but also its unsustainable transportation sector.

Implementing sustainable transportation technologies, for example electric vehicles, are hindered

not only by weak technology and innovation but also the electricity shortage in the whole country.

Based on the above SWOT-analysis, critical success factors for Jakarta urban transport system can be

determined as follows:

1. Establishment of Jabodetabek Transportation Authority (JTA)

The Central Government should speed up the establishment of JTA to create an effective and

efficient coordination between different governmental levels, private sectors and other

institutions that play a role in the Jabodetabek transport developments.

2. Increasing capacity building

Transport planning is a complicated discipline as it involves various skill areas and

stakeholders that should be taken into account in a simultaneous way. While there may be

enough highway or construction engineers, other professional staff (such as traffic engineers,

transport planners, economists, and public transport regulators) tends to be in short supply and

frequently lack necessary skills. Technical support tools such as local design standards and

guidelines, good practice manuals, and more sophisticated knowledge management systems

also tend to be underdeveloped.

3. Strengthening and improving TransJakarta

In all planning documents, one can see how important TransJakarta is, not only for Jakarta but

also for Jabodetabek. Despite some shortages, TransJakarta as the first nation’s high quality

public transport mode has shown its success in reforming public transport in Jakarta.

Therefore, a commitment from the government and various institutions is needed to improve

TransJakarta to a higher level to follow the cities with state of the art of BRT such as Guangzhou.

Furthermore, improving other road-based public transport and integrating it with TransJakarta

is also very important.

4. Strengthening parking regulation

There are very few areas in urban transportation that can create many benefits for the quality

of live and change of mode choice as a strong parking policy. Introducing paid parking,

increasing parking fees and reducing or limiting parking spaces, will “push” motorists to switch

to more sustainable transport modes. At the same time, the revenues can be used to promote

and develop the alternative modes such as public transport and non-motorized transport.


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4.2. Cairo


Egypt is a pivotal country in the Middle East, the Arab World, Africa and the Islamic World. It is the

most populous country in the MENA region, with a diversified economy serving a young population

and a growing middle class. Egypt enjoys an unrivalled central geographic location, affording easy

access to the 300+ million strong MENA markets and the 1+ billion-strong African markets. The Suez

Canal further enhances this advantage, with 8% of world trade passing through the vital waterway.

The transportation sector is one of the main drivers of economic development and growth in Egypt,

linking production and consumption markets. Egypt’s unique geographic location combined with an

expanding infrastructure base is enhancing the country’s position as a key global logistics hub. Egypt

is currently embarking on a host of transportation projects in metros and tunnels, railways, ports,

and roads. The OBG’s Egypt 2014 report described the scale and scope of transportation projects in

Egypt as 'breathtaking’. Despite anticipating problems to face some projects, the report concluded

that 'even if only half of the targets are met the total achievements will still be among the largest in

Egypt’s history.’

The Greater Cairo Region (GCR), which includes the governorates of Cairo, Giza, and Qalubiya is

among the largest, fastest growing, and densest major urban agglomerations in the world. Its

population is about 17 million and projected to grow by about 1.7% per year for at least the next

decade. Population density exceeds 800 persons / hectare over much of the urbanized area. The

GCR is the dominant metropolis of Egypt with approximately 20% of the national population and is

the centre of economic, educational, medical, cultural, and governmental activity.

The CGR is also the preeminent transport centre of Egypt accommodating over 20 million motorized

person trips and 7 million non-motorized trips daily. About 2/3 of all motorized trips are made by

public transport, but about half of all motorized vehicles in Egypt operate in the GCR and while the

current car ownership rate is quite low, it will only take a small increase to bring about a dramatic

worsening of the traffic congestion that is amongst the worst in the world. The figure below

summarizes licensed vehicle and Cairo population growth in the 2011 to 2014 period and Table 7

indicates the number of licensed vehicles (note data is only available for Egypt as a whole):


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Figure 17: Number of licensed vehicles between 2011 and 2014 in Egypt

Source: Data from Central Agency for Public Organization and Statistics, 2014

Table 7: Number of licensed vehicles between 2011 and 2014 in Egypt

Vehicle 2014 2013 2012 2011

Difference

2011 to

2014

Private Car 3,592,822 3,380,104 3,231,513 3,074,862 +17%

Motorcycle 2,135,985 1,772,333 1,674,812 1,509,373 +42%

Lorry and Truck 1,083,938 1,033,849 1,020,378 978,731 +11%

Taxi 320,098 317,253 307,166 359,252 -11%

Other (e.g.

Political/Governate/

Government etc. vehicles)

162,295 165,418 185,879 224,782 -28%

Tourist/Travel/school bus 72,255 67,849 56,139 54,924 +32%

Tuk Tuk 65,844 51,213 49,574 0

Private Bus 38,227 36,672 31,556 36,270 +5%

Public Bus 16,494 16,420 19,417 19,104 -14%

Source: Data from Central Agency for Public Organization and Statistics, 2014

Interestingly whilst this shows a 17% increase in the number of cars licensed between 2011 and

2014, it shows the phenomenal growth in Motorcycles (42%), a significant growth in trucks (11%) a

small increase in private buses but a large reduction in public buses. It also shows the phenomenal

increase in Tuk Tuk’s from none registered in 2011 to over 65,000 in 2014.

Increased private car ownership: low bank loans, inexpensive fuel and increased local car

production/assembly has compounded the GCR traffic congestion. The figure below compares Cairo

cars per 1000/population (which is relatively lower than other cities) and its vehicles/KM road

which is relatively high and out of proportion with the cars by population:


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Figure 18: Number of cars in Cairo compared to other cities

Source: Prof Khaled El Araby International Symposium February 2013

The 2008 JICA study indicated that the population in Greater Cairo would be 24 million by 2027 with

7 million workers and 6 million students (from a base year of 2006 with 16 million population, 4.3m

workers and 3.4 million students). The CREATS study indicated the following resultant trip

generation increase:

Figure 19: Expected trip generation increase in Cairo

Source: JICA Study Team June 2008 2nd Seminar

With this increase in population and resultant trip generation, the JICA study identified the need to

strengthen east west transport links given the location of proposed new centres of development.

Measures considered and prioritized were:

Bus ways

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Cairo Bangkok Mexico Tehran Riyadh Mexicocity

Sao Paulo

Cars/100 pop

Veh/km of road

26.578

24.984

22.790

21.278

18.655

0 5.000 10.000 15.000 20.000 25.000 30.000

2007

2012

2017

2022

2027

Trip Generation (1.000 trips per day)


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Rail lines

Metro Extensions



While highly diversified, in terms of supply and related infrastructure and facilities, the Greater

Cairo Urban Transport System suffers major inefficiencies which translate into: poor transport

services especially for the low income groups captive of public transport modes and high economic,

environmental and fiscal costs for the country. Demand for mobility has greatly outpaced the

capacity of the public transportation system to cope. The gap has been primarily filled with private

owned and operated shared taxis (informal transport) and the use of private cars. The most critical

urban transport issues include:

Severe traffic congestion: Cairo is experiencing traffic congestion that places it among the worst

in the world. This has serious economic consequences and contributes to deteriorating air pollution

conditions. The average speed of traffic in Cairo is similar to that of other cities recognized for their

severe traffic congestion (Bangkok, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo). Travel speeds in the Cairo central

business district and in central Giza are typically less than 10 kph on typical business days. Yearly

economic cost of traffic congestion could reach up to 4% of Egypt’s GDP.

Figure 20: Typical street scene in Cairo

Source: World Bank Proposed Urban Transport Strategy, 10/11/06, page 1

No clear functional hierarchy of roads: There is no clearly defined routes for traffic which is

strategic, local, servicing nor are there any designated routes for public transport and NMT.


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Lack of traffic signal control at intersections results in underutilization of intersection

capacity: This situation is aggravated by a driving culture that requires drivers to give little

consideration to other road users if they are to complete their travel in a reasonable amount of time.

Most cities the size of Cairo have extensive centralized control of signalized intersections, a strategy

that can be demonstrated to reduce travel time by about 20% as well as increasing the effective

capacity of the road network. “There is an insufficient number of signalized intersections. At many

intersections traffic lights are not visible because of low poles which make it difficult for drivers who

are behind large buses to see them. Some traffic lights are not working properly. Currently during peak

periods, almost all signalized intersections are manually controlled by traffic policemen. Manual

operations are based on an assessment of spot conditions by visual observation by traffic policemen

and/or information received via transceivers. However, it is rather difficult for this manual controlling

technique to maintain an effective synchronization situation between intersections because it tends to

result in a longer cycle length.” (Cairo Regional Area Transportation Study, Phase II Final Report,

Volume II, page 4).

Lack of road signs and road markings: If there are inadequate markings of traffic lanes, signs

giving indications of traffic priority and regulations (such as “Stop” signs at intersections) and

indications of how to reach destinations, drivers respond in ways that appear to minimize their own

travel time, but which in practice increase travel times for all road uses. Drivers cannot be expected

to follow the disciplines that make best use of available road space if there are no road marking or

signs to help them. Changing from the existing “rules of the road” to others that would be more

advantageous to all road users is a very long term process, but it has a relatively low financial cost

and significant benefits.

Lack of facilities for pedestrians: There is a lack of appropriately designated, safe and well

maintained pedestrian facilities throughout the metropolitan area. Commensurate with the lack of

appropriate crossings, pedestrians are seen to be crossing streets at inappropriate locations and

mingling with moving motor vehicle traffic. Moreover there are many locations where footways are

blocked by signs, kiosks, construction debris, and parked cars.

Inadequate junction designs: Most road junctions in Cairo were designed when the numbers of

cars and other vehicles were much lower. Simple junction designs that are suitable for low numbers

of vehicles do not work well when the numbers increase to those currently experienced. Whether

through lack of funding or traffic engineering skills, junction design has failed to change with the

changing needs, so that most congestion results not from a lack of road capacity but a lack of

junction capacity.

Lack of bus stops: One of the most common complaints against mini-bus operators is their

stopping wherever a passenger wants to enter or leave the vehicle, with little to no consideration of

the impact of the informal stop on the flow of other vehicles. Other cities have found that the location

of bus stops that provide information on the route numbers served and the places served by those

routes, combined with the enforcement of their use, not only reduces impediments to the overall

traffic flow, but makes the bus services more attractive to the users and more profitable to the

operators.

Lack of facilities for and management of car parking: Among the greatest impediments to

pedestrian movement are cars parked on footways, and so closely parked at the sides of roads that


90

there is no space for pedestrians to cross the roads. Cars parked in inconvenient locations are also an

impediment to vehicle flows and significantly reduce road capacity available for traffic. One of the

reasons that cars are parked on footways and on roadways where they impede traffic is that there

are few other options available.

Bus priority facilities: As in many other developing cities, initial attempts at measures to give

buses priority in street and intersection capacity have not been successful. In part this is because

they were not well designed, in part because other complementary measures were not taken, but

most importantly, because their observance by other road users was not enforced.

Poor public passenger transport system: Cairo relies on under developed, overcrowded and

unreliable passenger transport services. The main positive characteristic of these services is their

low fares. However, for those services that are still operated by the public sector, this results in

unsustainable subsidies, and for private services that try to compete with the heavily subsidised

public services, the resulting fares are commercially unsustainable. The most obvious outcome is

inadequate public transport supply and deteriorating service quality. Public buses are poorly

maintained and many are out of service, while private operators are restricted to small and aging

vehicles without the means to replace them. The large number of operators and the previous lack of

an institutional framework to properly manage and regulate the system have led to a lack of

integration among passenger transport modes, rapid development of very low quality and unsafe

supply, making already unpleasant travelling conditions worse than they need be.

A high accident rate: The road transport death rate in Cairo is very high. Over 1,000 people die

each year in motor vehicle accidents in GCR, more than half of them pedestrians, and over 4,000 are

injured. Except Teheran, these rates are by far higher than what has been recorded in other mega

cities of the world (World Bank, 2006).

Air and noise pollution: Mobile source air pollution in Cairo is serious both with regard to

particulate matter as well as noxious chemicals. Noise levels are high and aggravated by very old

large proportion of the car and taxi fleet. Vehicle inspections that should limit exhaust gas pollution

are mostly ineffective (World Bank 2006).

Institutional weaknesses and fragmentation: Like many other cities experiencing rapid

population growth and even faster motor vehicle growth, Cairo suffers from highly fragmented,

largely uncoordinated and inadequately staffed institutions to deal with urban transport problems of

this magnitude. The GCTRA (as described in section 4.3.7.1 below) is the first attempt to address

this.

Inadequate financial arrangements: Up until the March 2015 Invest In The Future conference

(as described in section 4.3.8 below) overlaying all of the above problems are inadequate financial

arrangements leading to under investment in transport facilities, especially in public transport

capacity which suffers major shortages; inadequate cost recovery and consequent excessive

subsidies for urban transport public; highly subsidized pricing of gasoline and diesel fuels which

favour less efficient private transportation (private cars and small taxis); and little participation of

formal private sector in financing and/or managing urban transportation infrastructure and

services. There is a lack of proper infrastructure capacity to accommodate increased traffic demands.

The proposed large investments are unlikely to keep up with traffic congestion. The current focus is

on single infrastructure investments or technology driven approaches and this appears to be taking


91

place without an integrated view on broader requirements for successful intervention. The pressing

need is to find solutions to pending day-to-day problems whilst adequately addressing the long term

sustainable development needs of the transport sector.

Affordability: Affordability is the ability to use public transport without significantly affecting the

capacity to make other expenditures of importance under normal living conditions. By keeping all its

public transport fares very low, Cairo has been one of the most successful cities in making its public

transport services affordable, but this has come at a high cost in terms of subsidies, transportation

time, pollution and lack of investment in improved services. It is now questionable whether keeping

all fares low but enduring the consequences of poor quality and inadequate quantity is the best way

of making services affordable to low income groups. Inadequate and congested urban transport is

damaging to the city economy and harms both rich and poor. But the simplistic solution of

controlling fares at low levels for all passengers, is inequitable because it leads to a progressive

decline in the quality and quantity of all public transport services and ineffective because it will tend

to generate more congesting car traffic. Rather the objective of making public transport affordable

can be achieved by a more poverty focused policy.

Lack of inter-sectoral co-ordination (harmonization of policies, institutional co-operation) and

limited institutional capacity to effectively adopt, implement and further develop comprehensive

transport programs

Shortage of sustainable transport models and new approaches tested in Egypt to gain

experience, reduce the risks and build the confidence of the targeted stakeholders. Negative

experiences with some early experiments such as the introduction of separated bus lanes in Cairo in

late 1970’s and 1998 or with trolley busses in 1970’s;

Possible public perception, social and cultural barriers and occasionally conflicting interest

between the different key stakeholders;

Inadequate emphasis on integrating sustainable transport planning with urban planning

of new cities and on promotion of non-motorized transport in middle size provincial cities.

Conflicting land use/sustainable development challenges within the historical zones in Cairo

to serve the whole components and activities of the city socially, economically and environmentally

as well as to maintain/reduce the impact on the environment.



Cairo is dense and for most part compact within the built-up area. Key land use and urban form

issues are:

Trips are relatively short - 50% of the population live within 15 km of the Ramses

Square/Downtown Cairo

Informal areas represent 39% of the Greater Cairo built up area and 17% of the Greater Cairo

gross area. They contain 63% of the total urban population in 2008 (around 11 million of

Greater Cairo 17.3 million inhabitants).

Historical Cairo occupies significant portions in the central core.


92

New cities in desert areas occupy 2.2 times the current Cairo built-up area and house only less

than 5% of population (800,000 inhabitants). Average daily commuting times are more than 60

minutes particularly to new cities.

The countries’ pivotal urban functions for economic and social activities are predominately

accumulated in GCR. The number of Public Institutions in GCR = 22% of the national total. The

total number of buildings in GCR = 40% of the national total. Total in movements of Licensed

Vehicles = 42% of the national total. The Higher Educational function = 50% of the national

total.

Non-uniform distribution of urban populations: Low income housing is away from job

opportunities and high income housing is away from business opportunities.

Informal settlements: Close to 65% of inhabitants of GCR are living in informal settlements.

Informal areas absorb additional population and generate most jobs, economic activities and

services. They are mostly good locations close to urban boundary and more than 55% of vehicle

trips are minibus trips in informal housing areas.

New Cities in the Greater Cairo Area: 25 new cities are proposed in Egypt, 5 of these are in the

Cairo region and 3 to 4 are currently under design. These are huge areas with huge investments but

so far uptake is slower than envisioned and there are large travel distances involved with reliance on

the car in the absence of planned public transport systems (Prof Khaled Al Araby 2013).

Critical Urban Development Issues

The GCR is faced with two critical urban development issues:

How to redevelop or serve the inner city areas with an extremely high population

density=217 (person/ha)?

How functionally can the growing new communities be integrated that are physically

spreading over more than 60 km distant from the metropolitan centre?


Up-to-date modal share data was not made available but as shown in Figure 21 below shared taxi

represents by far the largest share of public transport trips (over half of all public transport trips)

with public bus the second largest share.


93

Public Transport

67.9%

Taxi 6.9%

Passenger Cars

16.4%

Motorcycle 0.7 %

School/Employer Bus

6.8%

Other 1.3%

Figure 21: 2010 Public Transport trip distributions


As shown in Figure 22 below one of the key transport challenges is that 73% of all trips are made by

motorized vehicles of which 68% are by public transport.

Figure 22: Challenges for transport in Cairo


As shown in Figures 23 and 24 below the share of public transport and walk is predicted to reduce

and the share of cars is predicted to increase by 2022.

Metro 16,6 %

2.061 Mill Trips/Day

Suburban Rail 0,6%


Light Rail 1,4 %


Public Bus 24,6 %


Public Mibus 3,4 %


Nile Ferry 0,1 %


Shared Taxi 52,3 %


Transport Coops Mini 1,0 %


Motorized Travel;


Non- Motorized

Travel 6.61 Mill Trips/Day


94

Figure 23: Modal shares in Cairo 2022


Figure 24: Motorized trip patterns in Cairo 2022


4.2.4.1. Buses/trams

Failures to keep regular bus services updated in terms of quality and regularity has resulted in a fall

in their share to just over 20% from almost 40% in only 10 years despite low fares. Similarly, tram

services have been partially dismantled and remaining services, due to lack of investments and

adequate maintenance, have deteriorated so far that they are of only marginal importance. These

losses to public transport have been made up partially by the metro system, but mostly by shared

taxis and microbuses that now account for over 50% of all public transport trips.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2001 2022

7,2 (33%)

8,6 (26%)

2,9 (13%)

8,1 (25%)

10,3 (48%)

14,9 (44%)

1,2 (6%)

2,1 (5%)

Walk Cars Public Transport Others

74 %

Million Trips

67 %

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2001 2022

Others

Public Transport

Car

22 %

72 %

32 %

59 %


95

As a result, currently, road based public transport is provided by a large and inefficient public

company (CTA), a large number of small and informal minibus operating companies, and an even

larger number of individually owned minibuses and taxis. The Cairo Transport Authority (CTA) has

42,000 employees to run 4,500 buses and its sister public sector operator has 7,000 employees to

run just 900 buses. This represents 9 and 8 employees per bus – easily over twice the staffing ratios

for an efficient bus companies.

While minibuses now fulfil an important role in the provision of urban public transport, among the

problems they bring include disproportionate contributions to traffic congestion, air pollution, and

road accidents. When individual vehicles are given a licensed to operate on a specific route, it is

impossible to control the capacity available at specific times of day – all owners want all their

minibuses operating all the time to generate as much revenue as possible, even when this means

that an excessive number of vehicles are operating at off-peak periods. Among those few, successful

approaches to regulating minibuses have been those in which the many informal operators are

brought into the formal system, and routes are allocated to small operating companies on a

competitive basis, rather than licenses being given to individual vehicles to operate on a specific

route. However this requires a system of route planning and allocation and subsequent regulation

that until recently has been lacking in Cairo. However, the recent implementation of taxi concessions

based on competitive tendering and the award of some minibus route licenses are indications that

large scale tendering and regulation of minibus routes might now be feasible. The figure below

shows the relatively low number of buses in Cairo compared to other cities:

Figure 25: Buses per million of population in cities across the world


4.2.4.2. Metro

The existing mass transit system serving the GCR is very modest for an urban agglomeration of its

size and population density, and expected population and economic growth:

There are only two metro lines totalling 65 km in length while similar sized mega-cities have

much longer systems relative to their population;

The suburban rail system and tram systems are poorly developed and contribute little to

system capacity. Nearly all of the mega-cities listed above also have extensive suburban rail

networks;

362

636

81

825

1020

645

753

419

965

493

231

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Mexicocity

Tehran Riyadh Moscov SaoPaulo

Paris London Tokyo Seoul NewYork

Cairo


96

There are no bus priority facilities in the GCR, which are typically the lowest cost form of

mass transit.

The very high patronage of the existing metro system, which currently attracts approximately 2

million passengers a day – about 20% of total passenger trips - represents an impressive use of a

relatively short system and indicates the merits of investing more in mass transit systems.

Figure 26: Metro ridership and coverage in cities across the world



Data on freight specifically for the GCR was not made available and therefore data for Egypt as a

whole is presented as a guide to the current situation in GCR. The freight transport system in Egypt

is dominated by road transport with a share of 96%, while opportunities for more energy efficient

rail and inland waterway transport are underutilized. This reliance on road freight causes

congestion and accidents. Based on available data, the table below shows the increase in road freight

since 1992.

Table 8: Increase in road freight since 1992

Mode/ Year (%) 1992 2002 2005 2006

Road 92.8% 97% 95.4% 95.7%

Rail 5.4% 3% 4 % 3.5%

River 1.5% 0.4% 0.7% 0.8%

Source: Central Agency for Public Organization and Statistics

Table 9: Freight modal splits - comparison with other countries using 2005 data is as follows

Country/Modal split Road Rail River

Egypt 95% 4% 0.7%

Holland 33% 5% 47%

Romania 43.4% 47.4% 9.2%

Poland 55% 44% 1%

Hungary 49.4% 44.4% 6.2%

Bulgaria 43% 52% 5%

Luxemburg 79% 14% 7%

Belgium 73.2% 14.4% 12.4%

10,00

36,92

6,62 8,36

3,45 1,53

14,5

20,47

7,11

15,73

21,85 24,17

30,08

18,26

11,41

0,00

5,00

10,00

15,00

20,00

25,00

30,00

35,00

40,00


97

France 81% 17% 2.1%

Germany 67% 17.5% 15.5% Source: Central Agency for Public Organization and Statistics

Table 10: 2005 published target goods transport modal shares (%)

Mode 2007 2012 2017 2022

Road 93.6% 92.4% 92.1% 93%

Rail 5.2% 5.5% 5.4 % 4.9%

River 1.2% 2.1% 2.5% 2.1%

Source: Proposed Urban Transport Strategy, World Bank , 10/11/06

As identified in section 3.4, the IITF March 2015 conference included investment in the following rail

freight measures including Ain Sokhna to Helwan (south of Cairo) Single track freight railway -

Investment in an end-to-end 140 km single track rail line connecting Ain Sokhna Port with South

Cairo (Helwan). The line would offer a link with the cement industrial zone in the Suez area to serve

the local market or to export via Red Sea ports. Funding has been secured for technical studies.

Expected freight demand is 11.7 million tons per annum by 2022. Proposed private sector

participation is a Joint Venture with Egyptian National Railways (ENR). Business development model

is a Build Operate Transfer scheme for a 25-30 year period. The freight price structure is to be

market-driven and not subject to any government regulation. There is strong government support

to develop the railway network (USD 10 billion investment plan for the next 10 years). Ministry of

Transport guarantees the provision of rights of way to potential investors. Government policy is to

gradually shift the transport of cement and feedstock from roads to cargo rail (freight cargo). It will

be the first cargo dedicated line for this purpose. There is a government commitment to provide all

land and permits approvals and apply existing regulations (e.g. limits on truck load). Government

will support in the negotiations of off-take agreements with cement manufacturers. Possible

interconnection with existing ENR-owned rail lines. There are also potential off take agreements

with cement manufacturers. The railway is to become a more competitive transportation mode due

to increased local fuel prices and limited driving hours for heavy trucks (ban on daylight

transportation is proposed). A potential upside is the possibility to transport petroleum products

from Suez port using existing Ain Sokhna / Suez line to Greater Cairo via Helwan.

4.2.6. Road safety

The road transport death rate in Cairo is very high. Over 1,000 people die each year in motor vehicle

accidents in GCR, more than half of them pedestrians, and over 4,000 are injured. Except Teheran,

these rates are by far higher than what has been recorded in other mega cities of the world. (World

Bank, 2006). In 2010 there were 7,398 fatal accidents in Egypt (where fatal is defined as died at

crash of scene – this definition is different to most developed world countries definition). Of these

74% were male and 26% were female.

More detailed data on accidents specifically for the GCR was not made available and therefore data

for Egypt as a whole is presented below as a guide to the current situation in GCR. The fatal rate (per

100,000) between 2001 and 2010 has increased as shown in the figure below:


98

Figure 27: Trends in road traffic deaths in Egypt

Source: UN 2010 Road Safety Report with source from Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics CAPMAS

Almost half of those killed in motor vehicle crashes are occupants (passengers and drivers) of four

wheeled vehicles although pedestrians make up an additional one-fifth as shown in the figure below:

Figure 28: Deaths by road user category in Egypt

Source: WHO Road Safety in 10 countries fact sheet, page 1

Fatal accidents in 2011 were marginally lower than 2010 at 7,115 (MOHP, 2011). In addition it is

estimated that in total 12,000 Egyptians lose their lives as a result of a road traffic accident with

many thousands non-fatality injured and some resulting in long term disability.

Data from the RS10 study (see below) indicate that on the Cairo Ring Road:

Only 16% of drivers and 4% of passengers wear seatbelts.

52% of front seat passengers are child passengers, of which only 8% wear seatbelts, 2.5%

use child restraint.

23% violate the speed limit. The top violators are large trucks, 2nd microbuses, 3rd private

vehicles, 4th small trucks and 5th taxis.

The Lead Agency for road safety in Egypt is the National Council for Road Safety but there is no

specific funding within the national budget for road safety. Various organizations are also involved

in road safety including:

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

De

ath

s p

er

10

0 0

00

po

pu

lati

on

Other (30%)

Pedestrians (20%)

Cyclists (2%)

Riders motorized 2-or 3-wheelers

(<1%)

Occupants 4-wheelers (47%)


99

Ministry of Health

Traffic Police

General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transport (GARBLT)

Egyptian Red Crescent

Egyptian Society for Road Safety

Union for Road Traffic Injuries

Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)

NGOs e.g. NADA

The national fatality target set for 2011-2020 is 2 to 5% p/a.

In terms of road safety policies/laws it is notable that there are none in force relating to key accident

risk factors including:

New and imported cars requiring front and rear seatbelts – although there is a law requiring

wearing of seatbelts in the front only).

Wearing of motorcycle helmets for riders is in force but not for passengers.

Child restraints

Penalty points system for traffic offences. (Source: UN)

Although there are laws on speed, blood alcohol concentration for the general population, seat-belt

wearing (front) and helmet wearing (driver only), they are poorly enforced.

Unless addressed urgently, road traffic collisions will continue to increase to become one of the top

leading causes of death by 2030. The WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety ranked Egypt as a

country with one of the highest rates of mortality due to road traffic crashes. In response, WHO

Egypt is currently collaborating with national stakeholders for implementing the National Decade of

Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and the Road Safety in 10 Countries (RS10) Project where Egypt is

the only country in the region to be included in the project.

The overall objective of the National Decade of Action for Road Safety in Egypt is the reduction of

road fatalities injuries and disabilities by 2020. The overall objective of RS10 in Egypt is to support

the Egyptian government to implement good practices to reduce deaths and injuries due to road

traffic collisions. The project funded by Bloomberg Philanthropists focuses on speeding, and seat-

belt wearing in both Greater Cairo “Ring Road”, and Alexandria Corniche and Gamal Abdel-Nasser

Road.

Key achievements so far of the RS10 project are:

Formation of multi-sectoral working group with high level coordination and collaboration,

and revitalizing the role of the National Road Safety Council as the national body for

coordination of road safety activities.

Procurement and installation of 24 speed and left-lane cameras in the Ring Road. This is the

first time to install these cameras in the Middle East, with complete automation of the

violation from offence to court ruling.

Building capacity with MOHP and WHO HQ HMN (Health Metrics Network) to develop injury

surveillance and vital registration systems and crash data reporting systems

Conducted observational studies in Greater Cairo and Alexandria governorates on speed and

seatbelt.


100

Development of social marketing and communication strategies and currently developing

media campaigns.

Challenges include:

Delays of implementation given country’s political situation, especially in enforcement of

road safety legislation.

Frequent changes in leadership of main stakeholders particularly in the Ministry of Interior

and MOHP.

Communication with partners, particularly consortium partners, attributed to lack of

resident representatives.

Activities to be implemented and future plans include:

Revisions of existing road safety legislation are currently in progress and are led by National

Road Safety Council.

Enhancing enforcement of road safety legislation through speed cameras.

Implement a targeted, visible and monitored public awareness campaign.

Engage NGOs to advocate for the priority legislation changes.

Continue to improve injury and fatality data systems.

Monitor and evaluate impact of interventions.

Lessons learned include:

The importance and value of engaging with multiple stakeholders.

Addressing issues through collaborative and interactive measures.

Establishing national ownership and responsibility for problems enhances sustainable

solutions.

Perseverance for implementation despite difficult situations is vital


4.2.7.1. GCTRA

This was set up circa 1 year ago and is responsible for:

Transport Policy and Strategy.

Bus concessions.

Safety and quality.

Parking.

Taxis.

Micro bus

Board Members consist of:

The 3 Governates – Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia.

Ministry of Housing.

Ministry of Interior.

Ministry of Environment.

3 local Egyptian experts.

GCTRA planned work activities include:


101

Enforcement - to work with Ministry of Interior.

Capacity Building within Ministries – this needs to be done an example was given of the

lack of design knowledge of facilities for disabled people.

Campaigns e.g. on Safety and a proposed campaign (awaiting President’s endorsement)

focused on 1 to 1 road safety activities.

Although in its early days this was considered by all met to be a positive step forward.

4.2.7.2. Integration of various authorities

It was clear from those met that up until the recent setting up of GCTRA very little cooperation took

place with regard to the planning and implementation of transport projects in GCR. However, even

with the existence of the GCTRA there are still a multitude of differing organizations involved with

transport in GCR.

4.2.7.3. Institutional capacity building

It was clear from those met that training of staff and retaining staff is a key issue in the various

organizations. The need for experts to be involved in projects was also made clear.


Many of those met expressed the optimism with the Egyptian economy and political situation and

this is reflected by the March 2015 Invest In The Future (IITF) conference and both the Government

and overseas investment in major infrastructure projects. It is also apparent that the Government

have changed/amended legislation to assist international investment and procurement routes.

However, key issues arising from March Conference were:

No feasibility studies carried out on projects - problem facing investors is that they don’t

have confidence in the schemes if no feasibility study work is available.

No defined bidding process/procurement route – Direct Order, PPP, BOT? Need to know

bidding process and Technical conditions.

No calibre of staff within the Government to manage the projects – use local external experts

due to insufficient funds for international experts.

No vision - Other projects were released at the Conference without any concrete strategy –

need a published strategy for investors.

A number of potential barriers to Investment were identified during the meetings including:

Bureaucracy – the MoI are trying to address this by acting as the Investors Agent.

Licensing issues.

Procedural issues – these need to be simplified by for example:

o Create a new regulatory framework and enable one authority to take the lead on a

project and give them a role as a partner and not just the regulator.

o Give the lead authority a share in the project - up to a maximum of 20% to 24%.

MoH have a revenue sharing mechanism in place for the projects they lead on.

o 6th of October City Dry Port is PPP. Other projects will be direct bidding - could have

limited number of invited tenderers.


102

4.2.9. Health

Air and noise pollution: Mobile source air pollution in Cairo is serious both with regard to

particulate matter as well as noxious chemicals. Noise levels are high and aggravated by very old

large proportion of the car and taxi fleet. Vehicle inspections that should limit exhaust gas pollution

are mostly ineffective. (World Bank, 2006).

Physical Activity: There are no NMT policies in place in Cairo, little if no specific provision for

pedestrians and cyclists and the accident rate for pedestrians is very high. Despite this walking

levels in Cairo are very high. From the site visits cycle use is almost non-existent.


The transport sector is responsible for about 28 % of the final energy consumption in Egypt and 25

% of energy related CO2 emissions, and is the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions in the country.

The total amount of GHG emissions from the transport sector in Egypt is estimated at 29 million tons

of CO2 (UNDP Sustainable Transport Project for Egypt).



To date, there was no data available about the mobility pattern of this group nor was this specifically

accounted in for in the earlier Transport Master Plans which can explain the absence of special

policies and facilities for this group in the transport sector. From the site observations and meetings

no specific provision has been made for older people/disabled people. It is understood that the new

Metro line construction includes for specific disabled people, provision (e.g. ramps, lifts etc.).

However, the existing Metro system has no provision and as such the new provision does little to

allow disabled people to access the city centre. From the meetings there is also an issue regarding

institutional capacity building on this particular issue.

4.2.11.2. Gender

No specific data was made available on travel patterns for males and females. Given the double

burden of earning a living and caring for the family, the time and reliability of transport systems is

very important to women. Sexual harassment of women on public transport systems was raised by

those met but no data is available to substantiate this. On the public transport systems no special

compartments for women are provided.


CTA old buses cost 1EGP to use, CTA new buses cost 2 EGP, the Metro costs 1 EGP anywhere

(although during the meetings it was suggested that a zoning system could be introduced to increase

revenue). National policy is now to increase gasoline prices from the current 11EGP (£0.9)/litre.

Price is a key issue for truck and taxi drivers but for many others is not an issue at the moment.

Affordability is the ability to use public transport without significantly affecting the capacity to make

other expenditures of importance under normal living conditions. By keeping all its public transport

fares very low, Cairo has been one of the most successful cities in making its public transport

services affordable, but this has come at a high cost in terms of subsidies, transportation time,

pollution and lack of investment in improved services. It is now questionable whether keeping all

fares low but enduring the consequences of poor quality and inadequate quantity is the best way of


103

making services affordable to low income groups. Inadequate and congested urban transport is

damaging to the city economy and harms both rich and poor. But the simplistic solution of

controlling fares at low levels for all passengers, is inequitable because it leads to a progressive

decline in the quality and quantity of all public transport services and ineffective because it will tend

to generate more congesting car traffic. Rather the objective of making public transport affordable

can be achieved by a more poverty focused policy.


Many experts argue the existence of informal settlements and modern cities reflect spatial

segregation and socio-economic disparities. The poor are excluded by commercial concerns, which

shows that human dimension is neglected in urban planning and transport policies. If the residents

of those informal settlements had direct access to a reliable and modern public transport system

they would not be dependent on for example micro buses, the streets would have less motorized

traffic which eventually could create a more liveable place to live for the residents. Lack of safe and

direct walking routes between places where people live and where they need to work, shop etc.

create a clear physical segregation between low-income and high-income areas. The consequences

are increased income equality, higher rates of unemployment and poor health services due to lack of

access to job networks and transportation.

4.2.13. General conditions and problems observed

The key conditions observed included;

- Chronic Traffic Congestion - throughout much of the day:

- Lack of/poor facilities for pedestrians

- Mix of uses and vehicles on the roads

- Poor Driving standards/unsafe driving practices

- Poor facilities for disabled people

- Poor quality of buses

- Poor condition of bus stops

- Lack of parking control

- Poor maintenance of roads

- Few examples of good quality public realm

- Smog in the city

Media Coverage

During the study visit press coverage was noted on for example:

A Fuel Smart Card (Consumption-Rationalization measure) to be implemented by the

Government on 15/6/15 primarily as a way of dealing with the black market in fuel. The

Government also hoped that the measure would result in a reduction in fuel consumption

and on money spent by Government on fuel subsidies (which currently equates to 13% of

the state budget which in 2013/14 was 2071 billion EGP and hence circa 269 billion EGP is

spent on fuel subsidies).

Based on polls 67% of citizens believed that the situation in Egypt is moving in the right

direction as a result of the March 2015 IITF conference, restoration of security and counter

terrorism efforts.


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4.2.14. Planning documents currently adopted by Cairo

It wasn’t clear from those met whether there was in existence an approved Transport Masterplan for

GCR and how this fits into the overall National Plan. In terms of the future it is clear that the strategy

is to attract people away from Cairo, in particular to the triangle to the East of New Cairo/New

Capital/Suez region which will have greater population in 30 to 40 years. As such this area will grow

in a planned way. It was understood from the meetings that permanent committees have been built

for planning/industry/commercial/transport/public engagement/safety/environment/slums and

they are working together to:

Produce Concept Plan for next 40 to 50 years.

Masterplan for next 10 to 15 years.

Immediate 5 year plan.

The MoH have an (unapproved) transport masterplan for Greater Cairo which includes connections

to east of Cairo (New Cairo and New administration capital) up to Suez Canal and they have asked

European Bank for assistance with the new masterplan. MoH have as yet to masterplan the area

East of Cairo from the ring road to Suez Canal as well develop Metro/tram/BRT/monorail linkages

east to for example 6th of October City and Cairo University (36 km away).

4.2.14.1. National, Urban and Transport Strategies adopted for Cairo

The 2008 Strategic Masterplan for Greater Cairo completed by JICA was the last study carried out for

Greater Cairo and those met during the study visit considered that this needs to be updated.

As such there is no overarching approved transport masterplan for GCR.

There are no national policies to promote walking or cycling throughout Egypt.

To address the transportation problems facing Cairo, government authorities have embarked on an

ambitious new infrastructure spend program e.g. with the expansion of the metro system. However,

until very recently little has been done to deal with operational, institutional or financing problems.

Previous transport masterplan studies include:

4.2.14.2. 2002 Urban Transportation Master Plan (TMP) - CREATS

This document was never formally adopted as the urban transport strategy of the Government of

Egypt or of the three Governorates responsible for urban transport in the metropolitan area of Cairo.

The Urban Master Plan envisioned Greater Cairo (GC) as a polynuclear metropolis, with transport

costs minimized by the development of new commercial centres closer to residential suburbs and

with a major services centre to the east of the metropolis, and new residential “settlements,”

construction of metro and regional rail lines, expansion of the tramway network to Giza, and

construction of a new ring road.

In the period up to 2000, the population of GC increased by “only” 5 million rather than the 7 million

projected in the 1982 Urban Master Plan, as there was a simultaneous reduction in birth rates and

migration away from the metropolis. However, the Central Business District (CBD) of Cairo grew

much faster than expected and overflowed to the west bank of the Nile, and the concept of a new

services centre to the east of Cairo was abandoned. There is a continued and largely uncontrolled

expansion of lower class housing along the edges of the city, instead of the creation of new

residential settlements. New towns were belatedly created, but had populations of about 250,000

instead of the almost 3 million projected. Given the absence of rapid and affordable public transport,

these towns attracted relatively wealthy residents who had cars. The first metro line was built as


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proposed, and eventually the new ring road was also built. Few of the other components of the Plan

were implemented.

Figure 29: Proposed expressway network


CREATS used a transport model - key issues from this model were:

A TRIPS transport model was built for this.

In 2002 average travel speed was 18 kph.

Target year was 2022.

Tested various scenarios (Do Nothing, Do All proposed transport measures (e.g. completion

of all Metro lines, Urban Expressway construction, new flyovers at congested points) and

then Scenarios A, B and C as options. If all projects were implemented then the target was to

maintain the 2002 average speed by 2022.

However, based on Al Azhar University recent surveys the 2015 average speed is less than

10Kph.


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Figure 30: What will happen in 2015? “Do Nothing” Situation


4.2.14.3. 2006 Greater Cairo Urban Transport Strategy (World Bank)

Key recommendations from this study included:

Developing and sustaining urban transportation institutions.

Setting Decision Making Process for Selecting Priority Investments in line with realistic

funding capacity in the urban transport sector.

Sustainable financing of urban public transport system: greater reliance on user-charges

More efficient organization and operation of public transport services

Modernized Effective Traffic management system and application of proactive travel

demand management techniques.

Enhanced institutional set up for stricter enforcement of traffic rules.

4.2.14.4. 2005 and 2008 Expressway studies

2005 PPP Study.

2008 Feasibility study.

Study carried out by Pacific Consultants (now called Oriental) who built a new model called

STRIC).

An extract form the JICA Cairo Urban Toll Expressway Report is shown below:


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Figure 31: Extract from JICA Cairo Urban Toll Expressway Report

Source: Consultant

4.2.14.5. 2006 East of Mediterranean Sea study

Carried out by MoT.

Considered logistics centres/dry ports/multi modal interchange.

Dry Port at 10th of Ramadan City proposed to link to Suez and at 6th of October City to link to

Sokhna Port.

Rail links also studied.

4.2.14.6. Cairo Vision 2050/52

Developed by General Organization for Physical Planning/MoH in 2008 and tied up with the 5 year

plans (issued 2007 and 2012).

4.2.14.7. World Bank/JICA Cairo Congestion Study 2008

PPP STRICA transport model used (since no one had access to the TRIPS 2002 CREATS

model).

Estimated travel speeds and delays.

This is the last Transport Master Plan approved for Cairo but all those met agreed that this is now

out of date and other studies are ongoing but are not approved.


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4.2.14.8. Egypt Master Plan 2012 (MINITS)

CUBE transport model built - was an EU capacity building programme within this study with

training provided to staff at Transport Planning Authority – but these have now left.

Covered rail, roads and marine modes.

This considered Western Desert Corridor to Connect Alexandria to 6th of October City and a

Logistics centre at 6th October of City – however a Potential Ministry of Defence conflict with

regard to security issues re Sinai/Israel border.

With the now proposed Suez proposals from the March 2015 IITF conference this study is

now out of date.

4.2.14.9. World Bank Bus project - underway

World Bank loan to buy new buses and build new bus lanes.

40 to 50 km long sections considered in 6 corridors.

4.2.14.10. World Bank Rail study – underway

New locomotives and rolling stock.

4.2.14.11. Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) March 2015 - Invest In The

Future (IITF)

At this Conference 55 projects in the Agriculture, Housing and Utilities, Industry and manufacturing,

ICT, oil, gas and Mining, Tourism Transport and Retail sectors were presented to investors. In terms

of those potentially impacting on transport conditions in Greater Cairo these include:

Transport Projects

The Cairo Airport City project (“CAC”) aims at positioning Cairo as the centre of the region through

a series of logistical, retail, and recreational developments including:

Aerocity: this will be CAC’s commercial / leisure heart, and will include retail and office

spaces, along with an entertainment area – this is the first project and will be a Design Build

Operate and Transfer project.

Exhibition City: a world-class exhibition centre that will host a wide range of international

events

Cargo City: will become the core distribution centre for goods and freight from Cairo

international airport to Egypt’s major ports, railways and roads

Free Trade Zone: a specialized logistics hub to complement cargo operations, with the

development of specialized industries

Airport Core: urban development’s to accommodate Cairo and CAC business / leisure

visitors

Close proximity to city centre and easy access to airport terminals was sold as an advantage of

Aerocity - but it can be questioned whether there is sufficient capacity in the existing and proposed

transport network to accommodate this.

Nile River Bus Ferry aims at improving the Nile river bus transportation services through

additional terminals and boats and better quality of services (reduced trip time and pollution) -

currently a high degree of deterioration with only 12 boats operating and outdated terminals. The

project will extend existing trip routes and improve operational efficiency. Pre-feasibility studies

have been carried out using EBRD funding which identified the need for 41 new boats, upgrade of 16

existing terminals and provision of 12 new terminals. The private sector will design, build and


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operate the Nile River Bus Ferry system, maintain the fleet and terminals through a PPP contract.

Private sector remuneration (open to negotiation): fair prices, rights over commercial facilities to be

developed around terminals. General Transportation Authorization in Cairo / Cairo Governorate

with the collaboration of the PPP Unit will issue required licenses, provide access to existing lines

and terminals.

Ain Sokhna to Helwan (south of Cairo) Single track freight railway: Investment in an end-to-end

140km single track rail line connecting Ain Sokhna Port with South Cairo (Helwan). The line would

offer a link with the cement industrial zone in the Suez area to serve the local market or to export via

Red Sea ports. Funding has been secured for Technical studies. Expected freight demand is 11.7

million tons per annum by 2022. Proposed private sector participation is a Joint Venture with

Egyptian National Railways (ENR). Business development model is a Build Operate Transfer scheme

for a 25-30 year period. The freight price structure is to be market-driven and not subject to any

government regulation. There is strong government support to develop the railway network (USD

10 billion investment plan for the next 10 years). Ministry of Transport guarantees the provision of

rights of way to potential investors. Government policy is to gradually shift the transport of cement

and feedstock from roads to cargo rail (freight cargo). It will be the first cargo dedicated line for this

purpose. There is a Government commitment to provide all land and permits approvals and apply

existing regulations (e.g. limits on truck load). Government will support in the negotiations of off-

take agreements with cement manufacturers. Possible interconnection with existing ENR-owned rail

lines. There are also potential off take agreements with cement manufacturers. The railway is to

become a more competitive transportation mode due to increased local fuel prices and limited

driving hours for heavy trucks (ban on daylight transportation is proposed). A potential upside is the

possibility to transport petroleum products from Suez port using existing Ain Sokhna / Suez line to

Greater Cairo via Helwan.

6th October Dry Port: Located 40 km west of Cairo, 15 km from 6th of October industrial zone,

adjacent to the 6th of October airport. Regulatory Body is the General Authority for Land and Dry

Ports (GALDP) and the Preliminary feasibility study is complete with technical studies EBRD

financed. The Business development model is a revenue sharing agreement with the Government

and land lease for a 25-30 year period. Pricing will be market-driven and not subject to any

government regulation. There is strong government support to develop the railway network (USD

10 billion investment plan for the next 10 years), Government commitment to provide all land

(secured) and permits approvals and apply existing regulations, Preliminary protocols signed with

the customs and railway authorities and with the GALDP for import and export controls.

LRT Ramses Square to Alf Maskan: Total distance of 13 km with 16 stations to be developed by

revamping the existing tram line. Potential extension to Sheraton Houses near Cairo Airport.

Interconnections with Metro lines 1, 2 and 3.Expected to be 180,000 passengers daily by 2027. The

business development model is a Design Build Operate Transfer scheme for a 25-30 year period.

Pricing will be market-driven without any government regulation. Pre-feasibility and technical

studies are not yet complete. There is strong government support to develop urban transportation

modes to address congestion issue. The route over existing tram line and depot location exists, all

administrative approvals are already secured (including rights of way). There is increasing demand

for urban transportation in Cairo due to limited existing mass transport infrastructure and rising

domestic fuel prices. Demand for urban transport anticipated to reach 25 million trips per day by

2022.


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BRT linking New Cairo and Rehab to Nasr City Autostrade: This is expected to handle 344,700

trips daily by 2022, and is a dual track fully segregated bus line with feeder microbuses, Distance of

31.8 km with 39 stations. The scheme provides interconnection with Metro lines 3, 4, and 10th of

Ramadan LRT to be extended on Cairo-Suez road heading to prospective new governmental capital.

To be developed under a Design Build Operate Transfer scheme for a 25-30 year period. Pricing will

be market-driven without any government regulation, preliminary technical studies are ongoing.

Housing projects (it should be noted that all but one of the projects are within Greater Cairo) these

are promoted in recognition of need for urban expansion and decentralisation away from the

congested city centre

West Cairo City centre projects – 30,000 habitants plus commercial and services.

6th of October Oasis Mega Urban Development Project - Land owned by New Urban

Communities Authority (NUCA).

6th of October Urban Oasis - Mixed use (housing, administrative, tourist, sports and

recreation) development on land owned by NUCA.

Marabet Equestrian and sports facilities complex - 6th of October City on land owned by

NUCA consisting of villas, townhouses, horse race track, and hotel and relocated horse farm.

Zayed Ysrtral Spark - 6th of October city on land owned by NUCA consisting of 60 floor iconic

tower, mall, office park, residential units.

Zayed Central Park - In heart of Zayed city on land owned by NUCA consisting of residential,

commercial, retail, hotel, conference centre and spa.

Sheik Zayed Integrated Residential Project within 6th of October City on land owned by

NUCA consisting of residential and commercial.

10th of Ramadan Knowledge Village on land owned by NUCA consisting of Integrated

knowledge complex encompassing a university, schools, workshops, administrative

buildings and residential units.

Mokattam Residential and Commercial Complex adjacent to Cairo Autostrade consisting of

residential units, mixed use, Mall and hotel.

Al Ismaelia Urban Revitalisation Project – Downtown Cairo.

ICT projects include:

Maadi Technology Park - started in 2010 and completion expected 2017

10th of Ramadan City Tech and Science Park

Tourism projects include:

6th of October Touristic City in the vicinity of the Great Pyramids of Giza including

commercial, administrative, cultural, sports, hospitalities, hotels and aquarium.

Also announced at the EEDC was new Capital City/Administration Capital – however we understand

that progress on this has stalled subject to Government discussions with UAE investors.

In addition to various deals and MOU’s between Egypt Government and private sector $12.5bn in

pledges was obtained from KSA, UAE, Kuwait and Oman.

No available information was provided in this document on whether the existing and proposed

transport infrastructure has the capacity to support this level of development.


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Investment Reforms

During 2014/15 various economic and fiscal reforms have been carried out/proposed by the

Egyptian Government to restore confidence in the Egyptian economy locally, regionally and

internationally and remove impediments to investments.

Based on a review of the Plans and based on discussions with the various ministries, a

summary of other current proposed planning and Transport investment in GCR includes:

Metros and Tunnels - The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) was established in the early 1980s

to deliver the first Cairo metro line. NAT’s remit includes conducting technical studies of tunnels and

underground projects; construction of tunnels and underground projects; and handing over the

projects to the relevant authorities for operation. NAT has successfully delivered Cairo Metro Line 1

(capacity 2 million passenger/day); Cairo Metro Line 2 (capacity 1.76 million passenger/day); Al-

Azhar Road Tunnel (2.65 km twin tunnels; 65,000 cars per day); and phases 1 and 2 of Cairo Metro

Line 3. Since 1983 circa 83km of metro network has been completed in GCR. NAT has ambitious

plans to push forward with an impressive portfolio of projects. Unlike the case with all delivered

metro lines to date, where different phases of each metro line were delivered sequentially (e.g. phase

1 of Cairo Metro Line 2 was delivered in 1996; while phase 5 was delivered nine years later in 2005),

NAT plans to go ahead with phases 3 and 4 of Cairo Metro Line 3 (CML3) in parallel (see figure

below):

Figure 32: Greater Cairo Metro lines

Source: British Expertise Egypt in Transition Spring 2015

Phase 3 of CML3 will serve central and western Cairo, while phase 4 will connect Cairo International

Airport to the capital’s growing metro network. NAT commenced work on both phases 3 and 4 in

2015, and to deliver both within three years. The French company Vinci signed a contract for the


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underground stations for phase 4 of CML3; while the local and capable Orascom and The Arab

Contractors signed contracts for the five surface stations. EIB contributed €600 million and the

French Development Agency (AFD) donated €300 million for CML3, and the Egyptian treasury has

recently approved circa US$ 1 billion for rolling stock. In November 2014, NAT shortlisted 3 bidders

for technical supervision services for phase 3 of CML3. Cairo Metro Line 4 (CML4) is expected to

commence in 2015. Notably, CML4 will connect the new Grand Egyptian Museum and the Giza

Pyramids plateau to the metro network. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing

US$1.2 billion loan towards the design and construction of this metro line, representing circa 50% of

total cost. The Egyptian government will cover the remaining 50%.

Figure 33: Line 4 of Greater Cairo

Source: British Expertise Egypt in Transition Spring 2015, page 11

The future projects for NAT include Cairo Metro Lines 5 and 6. CML5 is expected to run for 24 km

and include 17 underground stations. Technical and feasibility studies for CML5 are expected to cost

EGP 80 billion (£7 million), while the construction cost is expected to reach EGP 14 billion (£1.23

billion). CML6 is expected to run for 30 km and include 24 stations, 20 of which are underground.

The studies for CML6 are expected to cost EGP 100 million (£8.8 million), while construction

estimates stand at EGP 20 billion (£1.76 billion).

MoH have a proposal for a monorail from 6th of October City to Downtown Cairo.

Roads - The government estimates that US$ 8 billion is needed to upgrade roads over the coming

five to ten years. The government has started by allocating over US$ 1 billion to upgrade the road

network, and is adding 3,000km to the road network.

Railways - Egyptian railways date back to the mid-19th century. The railway network is crucial for

economic growth but suffers from severe lack of investment. During the Euromoney Egypt

Conference in September 2014, the co-chairman of the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) announced

a US$ 10 billion investment over 10 years to upgrade and maintain the antiquated railways network;


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with US$ 2.2 billion coming from the World Bank. The investment will upgrade the rolling stock, rail

infrastructure, as well as training and knowledge transfer. Egypt has ambitious plans to expand and

upgrade its rail network. There are plans to connect Luxor and Hurghada by a railway line, and to

build light rail to connect Cairo with its two main satellite cities: 6th October in the west and New

Cairo in the east. However, the most notable railway project is the High Speed Rail (HSR) from

Alexandria to Aswan. HSR is a new railway alignment dedicated for the high speed train between

Alexandria and Aswan through Cairo, Assiut and Luxor. The line is planned to be built in 3 phases:

Phase 1: Cairo – Alexandria - A pre-feasibility study has been conducted by an Italian company,

and indicated the following key parameters:

Line length: 202 km

The running speed: 300-350km/h

Execution duration: 5 years

Trip time: 60 minutes non-stop

Expected passengers: from 10 to 18 million/year

Capex estimate: US$ 3.5 billion

Phase 2: Cairo – Luxor - The development of the tender document and TOR for the feasibility study

is ongoing. The basic data of the line are:

Line length: 680 km

The running speed: 300-350 km/h

Execution duration: 8 years


Phase 3: Luxor – Aswan - The development of the tender document and TOR for the feasibility

study is ongoing. The basic data of the line are:

Line length: 210 km

The running speed: 300 -350km/h


Land use developments - Through the meetings and review of available reports it is clear that the

intention is to relocate growth outside of Cairo not to extend the Greater Cairo boundary. This will

be achieved by:

New Cities - Existing (e.g. 6th of October, New Cairo) and proposed (e.g. New Administration

Capital).

New Housing (e.g. at Mivida, Uptown Cairo)

New Industrial cities (e.g. 10th of Ramadan City which is the largest industrial zone in Egypt

located 25 km from the airport).

Aerocity proposal

Suez proposals

Housing - There is shortage of housing particularly in the low and middle income housing market.

The government announced a deal with the UAE developers Arabtec to build one million housing

units, to address the chronic shortage in the low and middle income housing markets. The one

million housing units will be built on 13 plots currently owned by the Egyptian Armed Forces.

Among the main players in the high income housing market is the UAE developer Emaar. Emaar has

three main projects in Egypt: Mivida in east Cairo, Uptown Cairo in central Cairo and Marassi on the


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Mediterranean coast. Emaar are looking to develop seven hotels in the Marassi project and seven

high rise buildings (22 storey) in the Uptown Cairo project. Mostakbal City (‘Future City’) is the

flagship and largest planned mixed use development in Egypt’s New Cairo City. An urban community

will be developed on an area of 11,000 acres, integrating residential, commercial, education,

recreation, retail, and business facilities and communities. The project benefits from an

advantageous location with easy access to the Cairo-Suez motorway as well as to several key

development projects and urban communities in east and north-east of Greater Cairo, including El

Rehab, New Heliopolis, El Shorouk, Madinaty, Mivida and Barwa. The project is also close the new

campus of the American University in Cairo, as well as the German, French and British universities in

east Cairo.

Suez Canal - The aim of this project is to transform the Suez Canal region into a global hub and to

ensure the long term growth of the Egyptian economy. The development of the Suez Canal region

lies at the heart of Egypt’s ambitious development programme, and is expected to serve as the main

stimulus and engine for growth and employment.

4.2.15. Discussion of current situation and critical issues for success


The situation has now been reached in which there is no simple solution to the wide range of urban

transport problems. While addressing any one of them will bring about significant and observable

improvements, the full benefits of any particular measure will not be realised unless other parallel

measures are also implemented. Therefore, a holistic strategy comprising many inter-related and

mutually supporting measures is now required.

Transport planning in Cairo needs to move away from a spontaneous system to a planned system.

This needs to reflect the positive aspects of Cairo including

Economic/Business activity.

Education, tourism and health centre.

Urban ‘buzz’.

Global linkages.

However, the planned transport system needs to address the negative aspects within Cairo

including:

Chronic Transport problems.

Quality of Life: Egypt ranks 80 on the Quality of Life Index (EIU, 2007).

Cairo although a Megacity is not a Global city (UN, 2002).

In doing so transport planning in Cairo needs to address the pitfalls that have taken place in Cairo in

the past including:

Pre-occupation with ‘modern’ car-based suburban living in new towns resulting from a

biased transport policy where for example 11% of households own a car but cars make up

67% of total urban road traffic on average.

Only 4% to 5% of population live in new towns.

• No public transport priority schemes exist.


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• Lack of effective traffic management.

• No serious measures for restricting car movement.

There have been some successful projects implemented in Cairo. For example the 2009 GOPP report

identified the success of a pedestrianisation and traffic diversion scheme in the historical area of

Cairo at Al Muizz Street. The UNDP Sustainable Transport Project for Egypt has also been

responsible for implementing Pilot Sustainable Transport improvements including:

Sheik Zayed City to 6th October City and link to Metro lines 1 and 2 with an integrated ticket.

Improved internal 6th October City bus services.

Proposal is to replicate these improvements at the other New Cities (10th of Ramadan, New

Cairo, Badr, Oboor, Shorook with bus links to existing/proposed Metro lines.

Feeder bus services provided Almazia and El Hegaz areas with the Sarraya El Koba Metro

station and also new bus services between Maadi Metro station and surrounding Maadi

residential areas with an integrated ticket.

Improved walk and cycle measures in Fayoum and Shebin El Kom.

Bus lane implemented on Mostaff El Nahas Corridor.

Proposals for higher parking charges in CBD, Variable Message Parking signs and park and

ride at Metro stations.

National Policy proposed to improve energy efficiency and intermodal terminal facilities

Awareness raising campaigns.

There is also a centre of road bus lane on Mostafa El Nahas implemented by the Cairo Governate –

however it was observed that there are many conflicts with U turners. Few other implemented

examples were observed or reported on in published research.

The 2009 UNDP, Cairo Sustainable Transport Report identified the following as key components of a

Sustainable Transport Strategy in GCR:


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Figure 34: 2009 UNDP, Cairo Sustainable Transport Report identified the following as key

components of a Sustainable Transport Strategy in GCR

Source: Consultant

Going forward to solve the transport problems in GCR, an Integrated Transport Strategy for GCR

should consider:

New, high quality integrated public transport services for Cairo and its satellite cities to

exert shift from private car use.

Increase the modal share of Non-Motorized transport (NMT).

Successful introduction of a Travel Demand Management (TDM) concept with an objective

to expand it towards more aggressive measures over time to effectively discourage the use

of private cars, when good quality public transport services are available.

Improved energy efficiency of urban freight transport.

Enhanced awareness, capacity and strengthened institutional basis to promote sustainable

transport sector development

Speed up completion of Cairo urban metro network.

Improve roads and transport services within and serving informal areas.

Integration of public transport modes.

Parking management schemes.

Congestion zones.

Reduction of travel distances through effective land use policies.

Improve public transport in terms of coverage and level of service.

Make private car usage expensive.


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Provide proper space for pedestrians.

Enforcement of traffic rules and building codes.

Revision of transport pricing.

Reallocation of fuel subsidies.

Traffic demand management: flexible working hours and telecommuting.

Continue support and development of the GCTRA with enough skills, adequate powers and

funding for leading the planning, regulation and execution of key urban transport activities.

Travel Demand Management (TDM)

Whereas traffic management measures are aimed at increasing and better using the capacity of

existing streets, Travel Demand Management Measures are targeted at reducing vehicle use in

congested travel periods and places. Travel demand management has not so far featured as a

component of a transport strategy in Cairo, which has been almost exclusively focused on attempting

to satisfy demand for travel rather than to manage it. Within Cairoparking meters were introduced

in 2011 using coins and pre-paid cards in CBD area – but these have now all gone. There are off

street paid parking locations e.g. Tahrir Square, bus station. What is required is a CBD zonal parking

system with high charges e.g. Zone 1 = 30 mins max, Zone 2 = 1 hour, Zone 3 = 2 hour. Also needed

are controls on loading and unloading and for all of this to be enforced.

Even with a highly developed mass transit system, a well-developed road system, and good traffic

engineering measures, traffic congestion will continue to remain a serious problem without the

application of travel demand measures. There simply is not enough space for roads in central Cairo

and other high density parts of the metropolitan region to accommodate all motorists who may wish

to travel there in private cars at peak travel periods. Most demand management measures depend

on charging for the use of scarce resources, particularly road and parking space, so as to deter the

marginal road users from making their trip or by using the most efficient mode (public/private).

The charging can relate to:

car ownership;

car parking, and

the use of vehicles on the streets

All these demand management measures have their uses in the context of Cairo. Given the lack of

parking spaces and the high costs of adding additional spaces, charging sufficiently highly for

parking spaces and strictly controlling the use of unauthorized parking spaces would be among the

most cost effective demand management measures. New technology has made direct charging for

use of limited road space feasible and is now being considered or implemented in a rapidly

increasing number of cities (as referenced in Chapter 2 Literature Review).

The 2010 World Bank report considered how effective Travel Demand Management (TDM)

Measures would be in GCR - the results are summarized below:


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Figure 35: Effectiveness of TDM methods

TDM Policy Options Public Transport

Vehicle Transport

Public Transport Revenues

(1) Introduction of a common ticketing system 9% n/a 5.2%

(2) Fuel Tax and Parking Charge 8.4% -10% 12%

(3) Multi-polar Urban Structure 2.5% -8% 11%


Increasing revenues and reducing inefficiencies

Substantially more revenue is needed than has been supplied in the past for addressing the

transportation problems facing the GCR. With an objective to provide cost-effective and quality

urban transport services and infrastructure in a sustainable manner, funding of urban transport

should be secured on a regular basis with minimum fiscal burden on Government resources. So far

as possible, these additional revenues should come from transport users. This particularly applies to

private cars who contribute disproportionably to traffic problems in metropolitan Cairo. Options

include:

Higher Fuel Prices.

Wider Application of On-Street Parking Charges.

Introducing Road User Charges.

Public transport fares - passengers are willing to pay more than prevailing low fare levels for

better quantity and quality of service.

Private sector and competition in provision of Public Transport Services.

The emergence of the private sector in providing public transport services in recent years has

indicated a feasible alternative strategy to having all public transport provided by the public sector.

The greater the role that can be given to the private sector in operation and investment in vehicles,

the better the use that can be made on public resources in investment in infrastructure.

Enforcement

Given the lack of road space relative to the number of vehicles and the difficulties of adding more,

improved enforcement of traffic laws and regulations should figure prominently in an urban

transportation strategy for Cairo. There are very apparent and important gaps in enforcement

including widespread disregard for parking restrictions, excessive mid-block pedestrian crossings,

and disregard for traffic signals except (or even when) police are present. If traffic management and

demand management strategies are accepted as priority measures to implement in metropolitan

Cairo, it follows that the active supporting role of the traffic police will be essential to ensure that

these schemes are adequately enforced. Enforcement includes:

Traffic Safety: The paramount traffic enforcement activity should be aimed at reducing

traffic accidents, especially those that cause serious injury or death. Particularly important

will be greater emphasis in reducing pedestrian accidents which constitute a high

percentage of all injury accidents, and in reducing speeding which is a primary cause of fatal

accidents. To successfully address this issue it is anticipated that training and additional

vehicles and speed monitoring equipment will be required.

Accident Statistics and Reporting: The accurate and complete compilation of accident

statistics and their timely reporting is an important traffic police function which needs to be


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substantially improved. This information can serve as the foundation for improved traffic

safety programs as well as an input for determining where and what traffic management

measures should receive highest priority.

Traffic Incidence Management: It should be recognised that traffic incidents, including

accidents and vehicle breakdowns, typically are the cause of a significant proportion of

travel delays or congestion in urban areas. It is therefore important to equip the traffic

police with suitable equipment and training to be able to expeditiously document and clear

accidents and similarly to be able quickly clear all other traffic impediments.

Parking Enforcement: A very important matter to resolve is the enforcement of parking

restrictions. This will likely require changes to parking legislation and/or regulations.

Another important matter to resolve is whether parking enforcement should be handled by

the traffic police or alternatively whether this function could be handled by special

deputized personnel, as is common in many cities, freeing the traffic police for more

demanding traffic enforcement functions.

Maintenance

The substantial fixed investment in the urban road network needs to be maintained as a priority

measure prior to considering any significant improvement or expansion of this network. It is well

recognized that delays in the timely maintenance of roads results over the longer run in increased

maintenance or road rehabilitation costs. The current allocation for maintaining the primary road

network appears to be insufficient and hence there is a need to increase the maintenance budget for

the GCR road network and for road maintenance funding to be consistent over time to ensure timely

maintenance. Research has indicated that at least 20% of the total roads budget should be invested

in maintenance.

Based on discussions with GCTRA there is an initiative to be implemented called the ‘1m2 initiative’.

This aims to start with small steps and repair and maintain roads to a high quality to send a message

to users that they should respect the road network (e.g. park in the right way and not throw litter

and respect lane markings). Part of this initiative includes drawing up a list of deficiencies (e.g. pot

holes, manholes, signs) on 6 corridors for implementation.

Institutional Set Up

There are a multitude of various ministries and organizations responsible for transport in GCR for

example:

Various Ministries - those responsible for Transport include, MoT, MoH, Ministry of

Interior, Ministry of Defence , MOI, Suez Canal Authority

Within Ministries these are divided into various authorities e.g. within MoT there is the RTA,

General Authority for Roads and Bridges, National Authority of Tunnels (NAT), Expressway

Authority, GCTA, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Red Sea Ports Authority, Egyptian National

Railway Authority, National Council for Road Safety Within MoH there is National Authority

of Urban Dev, GOPP

3 Governates

The GCTRA has recently been set up to address these issues and the success of this organization will

need to be monitored. This is indeed a positive step.


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Institutional Capacity Building

Addressing traffic management deficiencies in GCR will require substantial improvements in the

existing institutional capacity within the GCR. Previous research has highlighted that this will

include at a minimum the creation of a civilian traffic management unit and the gradual devolution

of the traffic engineering function from the traffic police to these civilian traffic units as is the

practice in virtually all medium and large size cities in developing and developed countries. It must

be recognized that police are not adequately trained for this increasingly complex engineering

function, and that there is little prospect for this to occur in the future. By comparison, traffic

engineering is being taught at the university level in Egypt but those persons who are trained in

traffic engineering applications are typically not being hired by the public sector to pursue traffic

engineering activities. This proposed shift of traffic engineering responsibilities to civilian

authorities will permit the traffic police to concentrate solely on traffic enforcement.

Attracting, Retaining, and Training Staff

In addition to the creation of competent urban transportation institutions (such as GCRTA) is the

equally significant issue of attracting, retaining, and training qualified professional staff for

addressing the complex array of urban transport issues facing the GCR.

4.2.16. SWOT analysis summary

Strengths

Strategic location as an economic hub (great

economic potential)

Global recognition as an economic centre

Political stability

Investment opportunities/climate

Large and diverse population

Centre of agglomeration areas

GCTRA - the beginning of coordination of

activities

High demand for public transport

Weaknesses

Chronic traffic jams

Poor road safety record

Poor public transport system

Large area, large population and rapid

growth are difficult to manage

High motorization

No recognition of NMT policy

Weak enforcement of traffic laws

Lack of capacity

Concentration of activity in Cairo

Lack of public transport and NMT planning in existing New Cities

Opportunities Large population

Robust economy

Growth to be concentrated outside of Cairo

Attractive for investment

Threats Insufficient (transport) infrastructure

Weak technology and innovation

Risk of climate change


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4.3. Dakar


Dakar is the capital and biggest city of Senegal, located on the Atlantic coast, on the Cap Vert

peninsula. The city is the administrative and economic centre of the country with a population of 3

million, or 23% of the national population. The city has experienced quick population growth after

WWII, when its population was only 135,000. The expansion of the city inevitable happened to the

east, given the geomorphology of the region (Figure 36). It is estimated that the population of Dakar

will reach 5 million by 2025. A big part of the population is expected to be economically active as

almost 60% of the citizens in Dakar are below 25 years old, with an average age of 23.6 years.

Figure 36: From top to the right: The region of Dakar in 1900 (100,000 population), 1967

(500,000 population), 1986 (1.25 million population) and 2013 (3 million population).


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Transport network and infrastructure

The city is now experiencing the impacts of unbalanced urban development, physical separation of

activities, primacy and monocentricity. The movement of public transport, private vehicles, taxis,

pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles (bicycles and animal drawn vehicles) is directed to the

Plateau area throughout the day where streets are empty during non-working hours. The congestion

on the streets is exacerbated by the completely unregulated modal mix on the streets which makes

traffic flow slower and irregular as none of the modes is prioritized. The ubiquity of street markets,

vendors and informal activities are also occupying a big part of the street space and contributing to

the mix of users. The interaction of slow and fast modes reduces the overall performance of the

streets and although flows are better on higher speed roads, the coexistence of pedestrians and

vehicles is still frequent.

Land use and urban form

The administrative region of Dakar is divided into four departments: Dakar, Rufisque, Guediawaye

and Pikine (Figure 37). The biggest part of the population of the region is concentrated in the

department of Dakar (42%) while Guediawaye is the densest department with 21,248 residents per

km2, compared to the average density of 433 residents per km2.

Figure 37: The administrative region of Dakar and the four departments.

Source: 2025 Urban Master Plan (JICA, 2014)

The majority of the country’s administrative, military, economic and industrial activity was gradually

concentrated in Dakar and created unprecedented needs to for housing and transport which have

not been properly addressed by a series of urban masterplans adopted by the city’s planning

authorities in 1748, 1967, 1980 and 2000. Dakar is the engine of Senegalese economy and the centre

of national and international trade. The city is home to 46% of the administrative functions of

Senegal, 97% of transport and commercial workers, 96% of bank workers, 95% of industrial

enterprises and 87% of permanent employment positions. In addition, Dakar has the only major


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airport in the country and the only major port as well as the only international train line to Bamako.

It is not surprising that Dakar produces 55% of the national GDP and 25% of all employment.

However, unemployment levels in the city remain high at almost 12%, with an additional 60% of the

citizens working in the informal sector.

All the services in the region of Dakar are concentrated in the department of Dakar and more

specifically in the Plateau area, the colonial centre of Dakar in the southwest of the Cap Vert

peninsula. Among the services located in the Plateau are the Presidential Palace, the majority of the

Ministries and Embassies, international and national businesses, the industrial zone, the main

hospitals, many modern and traditional markets, the port and the main train station. However, it is

noted that since the 1980s, part of the employment positions have been moved or created in the

Pikine department, providing a better spatial distribution.

Mode availability and shares

Private motorized transport

The condition and availability of infrastructure also affects the traffic conditions. In terms of the road

network, although the Plateau area and the Dakar department have a well-developed street network,

this is not the case in the other departments where major residential areas are located. In many

parts of the suburbs only main roads are paved which reduces overall accessibility levels for both

motorized and non-motorized transport. Similarly, big highways are focused on the Department of

Dakar, providing quick links to the suburbs. In terms of non-motorized transport, there are no

dedicated cycle lanes in the city while footways are very often elevated and badly maintained which

forces pedestrians and particularly disabled people to use the road space. It is noted that highway

projects going through residential developments in the suburbs are significantly reducing

accessibility for pedestrians and non-motorized modes. A limited number of footbridges is provided,

which is mostly accessible by steps.

Public transport

Public transport in Dakar is dominated by minibuses and buses. There is an existing train line, the

Petit Train de Banlieue (PTB), which is old and has limited capacity and frequency. Buses and

minibuses operate on fixed routes, and have different levels of formality. The blue, new buses Dakar

Dem Dikk (DDD) are operated by the DDD company and are the official public transport for Dakar.

The distinction between minibuses can be easily made from their colour. The white minibuses are

operated by private operators who sign concessionary agreements with AFTU while the colourful

minibuses are the old, privately operated, largely unregulated, and in the process of being replaced.

The latter type of minibuses is the one that offers the best network coverage and the lowest quality

of passenger experience.

Non-motorized transport/Social exclusion

Given that the majority of trips in the Dakar region are carried out using non-motorized modes

(81.4%) and that 65.7% of motorized transport is trips are made by public transport (compared to

17.5% by taxi and 10.2% by private cars) it is easy to understand that the impacts of private cars on

the society are highly inequitable. This modal split, along with the land use allocation in the city, is

major obstacles to both the mobility and the accessibility of a large portion of the population in

Dakar. The lack of proximity to basic services means that people need to take more and longer trips.

Indeed, as the analysis of the family spending of the families in Dakar shows, an average of 8.3% of

their budgets is spent on transport, which comes second after food.


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Freight and servicing

Regarding the urban freight activity in the city, no specific loading and unloading areas were

observed. The multiple small retail units in the city require multiple deliveries which means that

more delivery vehicles are going around the city. However, the size of the retail units, especially in

street markets, implies that a big part of the merchandise can be carried by private vans which enter

and leave the city every day. This does not allow a great degree of consolidation of activity and poses

significant congestion problems. Except for the small retail freight activity, the port is also

generating a big amount of heavy freight traffic. It is estimated that around 200 trucks leave the port

every day to go to other areas in Senegal or other countries. There is also a freight train line linking

the port to Bamako, Mali, which is the only landlocked country directly dependent on the port of

Dakar. The trucks are posing significant congestion problems to the area around the port as they are

leaving via highway link passing through the edge of the city centre. This is the reason why the

Autonomous Port of Dakar (PAD) has introduced traffic restrictions, not allowing the trucks to leave

before 16:30 every day.

Road safety

In terms of road safety, despite the completely unregulated traffic on the streets, the existing modal

mix acts as unintentional traffic calming, lowering vehicles’ speeds and allowing vulnerable users to

make their way through the traffic. Drivers as well as pedestrians are aware of the local conditions

and are prepared to respond to unpredicted events. In addition, almost no aggressive reactions were

observed by the drivers. This does not mean however that the current situation is desirable. Drivers

show very little compliance with the traffic rules and enforcement is selective, unreliable and

sometimes corrupt. In terms of accidents, they are primarily a result of speeding which is observed

when traffic flows are better, mainly during off peak hours. The condition of the vehicles and the

inconsistent training of the drivers also contribute to the lower safety levels.

Human dimension

Finally, in terms the human dimension of the city, Dakar is a city characterised by vibrant human

activity and interaction in all its areas. The street markets and vending as well as the concentration

of markets around transport nodes (for example bus terminals and the port), make an equally

significant contribution to maintaining the identity, culture and economy of the city. Despite the lack

of official public spaces or their poor maintenance the social element of the city is alive through its

markets and everyday trade.

4.3.2. Summary of the key points of the meetings

The ten meetings held during the site visit in Dakar contributed to developing global understanding

of the transport governance structures in Dakar, the plans and ambitions for the city and also the

perspectives of different stakeholders on the current transport problems. Meetings were held with

representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Opening-Up, the Ministry of

Urban Renewal, Housing and Living Environment, British Embassy in Dakar, the University Centre

for Mobility Research and Studies (CUREM), the Urban Transport Financing Association (AFTU), the

Dakar Urban Transport Executive Council (CETUD), the British Embassy in Dakar, the NGO New

Road Safety (NPR), and the COMCEC nominated contact. In addition, we attended a roundtable with

the Minister of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Opening-Up in London where the Minister and

his advisors presented infrastructure investment opportunities in Senegal.


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Transport governance and institutional cooperation in Dakar have seen a major change after the late

1990s and early 2000s. The creation of CETUD in 1997 has made a significant contribution to the

improvement of the collaboration between different stakeholders in Dakar. CETUD brings together

the government, the professionals and the local authorities in order to achieve better coordination of

transport planning and operations for the city. However, CETUD’s role still needs to be enhanced as

it is currently responsible only for part of the motorized modes in the city and none of the active

modes. Although efforts to expand the authority of CETUD are in progress, fragmentation of

responsibilities between different authorities can still be observed. This is probably the reason why

it has been stated that there is lack of global transport vision for the city.

Various challenges and problems have been brought up during the interviews, the most important of

which is probably the lack of coordination between land use and transport planning and the lack of

land use mix not only in the Dakar agglomeration but also in the country. The majority of public

services and employment opportunities of the country are concentrated in Dakar and particularly in

the Plateau area. The huge need for trips to the Plateau is not met by the existing public transport

services and therefore significant congestion issues are caused throughout the day. The lack of offer

has been identified as another key issue, not only in terms of public transport but also in terms of

infrastructure. It has been suggested that the lack of road hierarchy and sufficient road

infrastructure also contribute to the congestion in the streets of Dakar.

The cars rapids renewal scheme is the most important public transport project currently in progress

in Dakar. The old cars rapids are being replaced by newer and bigger cars rapids, known as cars

AFTU or cars blancs or TATA, after their manufacturer. AFTU is the organization responsible for the

management of the replacement scheme which has so far been funded by the World Bank, a

concessionary agreement with China and a local bank. The number of the cars rapids that have been

replaced is 1307 and the scheme is expected to be completed by 2018. However, the fact that both

old and new cars are now in circulation, along with the delays in reimbursements have an impact on

the affordability and efficiency of services.

The vast potential for Dakar to improve was stressed in all our meetings. The Government has an

ambitious plan in place that will help Senegal become an emerging country by 2035. As part of this

plan, two major schemes for the city are proposed. A new BRT system and an Express Regional Train

(TER) linking the centre of Dakar to the suburbs located along the Cap Vert peninsula. These new

mass transit projects are expected to relieve the congested street of Dakar, and particularly those of

the Plateau, and meet the future demand which is expected to grow due to the high share of young

and economically active people in the city, and the expected economic growth. The studies for both

the BRT and the TER have progressed and the Government is now looking for investors to fund the

projects under PPP agreements. A BRT pilot line is expected to be completed by 2017.

In terms urban and land use planning, the 2035 Urban Plan for Dakar is based on the most recent

Transport Masterplan for Dakar (PDUD 2025) in order to achieve a balance in urban development.

The 2035 Urban Plan will try to improve the land use mix in the city and the suburbs and will

introduce two additional poles of urban activity, in order to remove some administrative and social

services from the Plateau. The new poles will be connected by the two BRT lines and the TER as well

as by improved road infrastructure. The 2035 Urban Plan for Dakar is developed by the Ministry of

Urban Renewal, Housing and Living Environment in collaboration with the Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA), which has permanent representatives in the city.


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Other key issues mentioned in the interviews include road safety, accessibility, freight and logistics,

and the condition of vehicles. Road safety is an area that has seen significant improvement since the

early 2000s. However, the rate of accidents and fatalities are still high and almost 50% of accidents

and 30% of the country’s road fatalities are concentrated in Dakar. The Government has adopted a

National Road Safety Strategy which has nine areas of action. The actions of NPR, an NGO focused on

raising awareness on road safety, are also contributing to the reduction of road accidents and

fatalities.

The components of accessibility that were most commonly mentioned in the meetings were

economic and geographical accessibility. Walking and public transport account for almost 50% of

the modal share in the city, as most people cannot afford private vehicles. Concessions and improved

fare regulation are currently being examined in order to improve economic accessibility. The

geographical coverage of the road was also mentioned as a major obstacle to accessibility, both in

urban and rural areas. Physical accessibility was most commonly mentioned in terms of access to

public transport vehicles. The lack of appropriate infrastructure for people with disabilities such as

ramps, the poor management of access to pedestrian areas and the lack of maintenance were only

mentioned once as factors limiting accessibility.

The activity of the port is managed by the Dakar Port Authority (Port Autonome de Dakar - PAD).

CETUD is responsible for the logistics in the city. Although the PDUD makes reference to logistics

operations, there is still very limited management of activities in the urban area. The freight

movement to Bamako is a very important to the economies of both Bamako and Mali and therefore

the Ministry is trying to facilitate the transfer of goods between the two cities. Today, 90% of the

goods are transferred by road and 10% by the Dakar-Bamako rail line. There are plans for both rail

and highway links to Bamako to be improved as currently there are almost 200 trucks passing

through the city carrying to goods to Bamako and the rail connection is old and inefficient.

Another key area of action for CETUD and the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport and

Opening-Up is to renew the fleet of both private and public transport vehicles in the city. In 2013,

more than 25% of the vehicles circulating in the country were between 26 and 35 years old. The

Ministry is currently seeking funding to introduce a digitized driving license system which will also

include information on the condition of the vehicles in order to improve and accelerate the

replacement procedure as well as the vehicle permits and servicing.

4.3.3. National, urban and transport strategies adopted for Dakar

As Senegal is aiming to become and emerging economy by 2035, a number of documents and

strategies have been adopted in order to put the country in the right path to achieve this goal.

Transport plays a key role in the development strategies and so does Dakar, which will remain the

centre of economic and social activity in the country, despite the plans to achieve a certain degree of

decentralisation. Not surprisingly, the strategies that have been adopted at a national level involve

ambitious plans to improve urban transport in Dakar and significant reforms in institutional

structures and functions in order to accelerate growth. At the city level, the urban and transport

masterplans (covering a period until 2025 and 2035 respectively) are covering the same study areas

and are closely linked, recognising the importance of coordination between urban and transport

planning. In addition, a ten year National Strategy for Road Safety was adopted in 2011, aiming to

improve the road safety conditions at a country level.


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In order to provide an overview of the current strategic framework for Dakar, a summary of four key

strategy documents and their role in shaping the transport conditions in Dakar is given below. Some

of these documents have not yet been officially adopted and were provided to us by the authorities

we met in Dakar.

4.3.3.1. Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE)

The Plan for the Emergence of Senegal is aiming to accelerate the country’s progress towards

becoming an emerging economy. The PSE is the reference for economic growth and social policy in

the medium and long term. The plan is based on three strategic pillars:

The structural transformation of the economy in order to improve the capacity of existing

and new sectors to grow, strengthen the exporting capacity of the country and attract

investment.

Improving the well-being of the population and reducing social inequality.

Reinforcing security, stability and governance, and consolidating the rule of law.

The first, urgent actions of the plan involve the improvement of the administrative procedures of the

country and the establishment of a fiscal and legal framework which is simple and motivating for

investors by 2016. If the necessary resources and funding are attracted the plan is expected to

achieve annual growth rates averaging 7.1% during the period 2014-2018, and the reduction of the

fiscal deficit from 5.4% in 2013 to 3.9% in 2018. The current account deficit will be brought below

6% in 2018 and the rate of inflation, will remain below 3%.

4.3.3.2. National Strategy for Road Safety

The study was funded by the European Union and produced by the Danish Consultancy CONSIA for

the Ministry of Land Transport, Rail Transport and Land Use Planning and the Ministry of Economy

and Finance The final version was issued in November 2011.

The National Strategy for Road safety is based on the United Nations Decade of Action for Road

Safety 2011-2020. Senegal is interested in developing a National Strategy for Road Safety which will

cover the management and financing of road safety, the management of accident data collected by

the Division of Road Safety, Regulation and Circulation (in the form of Analysis Report of Road

Accidents), the management of road infrastructure safety, the information, education,

communication and awareness raising on road safety, the technical control of vehicles and the post-

accident reaction.

Overarching objective of the Strategy is to achieve a 35% reduction in the number of the heavily

injured and killed in road accidents until 2021. The Strategy also has nine specific objectives:

Create an organization responsible for the efficient management of road safety powered by a

continuous financing structure.

Improve the accident data collection system so that reliable statistical data is readily

available to inform road safety policies and facilitate monitoring.

Establish a uniform training and examination programme for all for obtaining a driving

licence.

Provide a minimum of 50 hours of road safety education per year to all primary and

secondary school students.

Organize targeted road safety awareness campaigns

Establish a functional vehicle technical control test by 2018


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Enhance the cooperation between the official and independent forces in order to improve

the levels of enforcement.

Improve the infrastructure road safety standards and monitoring, conduct road safety audits

Reduce by 10 to 15% number of injuries and deaths related to road accidents by improving

the post-accident reaction.

The programme involves training courses for police officers, driving instructors, professional

drivers, school teachers, doctors and paramedics, safety audit team members and members of the

Administration of Road Transport.

A series of actions undertaken in collaboration by various departments are planned for each

objective. The monitoring of the performance of the plan will be done based on indicators measuring

the success of the actions planned for each objective.

The total cost of implementation is estimated at 8,446,331,960 CFA (almost 14.6 million USD).

4.3.3.3. Urban Transport Masterplan for the Dakar Metropolitan Region – 2025 (Projet de

plan de déplacements urbains pour l’agglomération de Dakar (PDUD) – Horizon

2025)

The PDUD 2025 covers the period between 2009 and 2025 as part of the Programme for the

Improvement of Urban Mobility (Programme d’Amélioration de la Mobilité Urbaine -PAMU11). The

plan is expected to be completed in three phases in order to align with the Urban Master Plan for

Dakar – 2025 (PDU 2025). Although the PDU was eventually withdrawn to be replaced by the Urban

Masterplan 2035 (see summary below), PDUD is still being applied. The three implementation

phases of the PDUD are:

PDUD-I: 2009 – 2015, including three evaluations in 2011, 2013, and 2015 (completed and currently

being evaluated),

PDUD-II: 2016-2020, including two evaluations in 2018 and 2020, and

PDUD-III: 2021-2025, including two evaluations in 2023 and 2025.

The PDUD 2025 has seven overarching objectives, each one of which includes a number of specific

objectives:

1. Improve traffic flows for passenger transport (includes specific objectives related to

public transport, integration between modes, pedestrian and cycling movements,

traffic management, parking and mobility of disabled people),

2. Improve the efficiency of freight movements (includes specific objectives related to

parking, loading and unloading, and distribution),

3. Improve road safety (includes objectives related to drivers’ training and traffic

rules),

4. Improve land use planning (includes objectives related to coordination between

land use and transport planning, organize informal activity, facilitate the

implementation of urban masterplans are applied),

11 PAMU covered the period between 2001 and 2008 and its objectives covered a wider area than that of PDUD, covering among others institutional reorganization, road and rail infrastructure, financial support and bus fleet renewal.


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5. Protect the environment and improve the quality of public spaces (includes

objectives related to air quality, noise pollution, and traffic bottlenecks),

6. Secure adequate and equitable financing of the transport system (includes

objectives related to operations and development financing, and preserving the

value of public investments), and

7. Evaluation and monitoring of PDUD in order to secure its successful implementation

(includes objectives related to defining the institutional framework for the

implementation of the plan, securing the consensus of all involved parties and the

involvement of people with the necessary competencies).

The PDUD 2025 is aspiring to promote and enhance public transport and while rationalising the use

of private cars. The strategy has five areas of action:

Passenger and non-motorized transport (including public transport, pedestrians, cyclists,

school children, people with disabilities, taxi users, marine transport and private cars)

Economic development (including freight movements, land use planning, and occupation of

public spaces)

Quality of life (including road safety, air pollution, energy consumption, noise pollution, and

quality of public spaces)

Financing (including transport costs management, fare structures, taxation, financing and

management of transport systems, and investment optimisation), and

Sustainable development (including institutional organization, cooperation on the PDUD,

sustainability of the plan, enhancing information collection and management, and capacity

building).

The PDUD 2025 was created as a response to persisting transport problems in Dakar during the

implementation of PAMU. Other projects, including the renovation of the PTB trains station and the

reorganization of minibus services, were also aimed at improving transport issues particularly

related to transport impacts of new construction sites. However, the allocation of decision making to

various authorities created discontinuities in the management of these projects.

The targets of the first implementation period 2009-2015 which is now complete and being

evaluated are:

Increase modal share of public transport by 3%

Increase public transport peak period speed by 30%

Increase private vehicle peak period speed by 10%

Reduce the duration of peak periods by 40%

Increase the number of short duration parking spaces by 30% in the urban area

Reduce by 90% the proportion of roads in bad condition

Create 2000 new off road parking spaces

Create 500 new parking spaces for HGVs

Construct and rehabilitate 200km of footways

Construct 50km of cycle lanes

Introduce on demand public transport services with a capacity of 500 trips per day

Reduce by 25% the number energy intensive vehicles

Maintain the average motorized trip lengths at the 2009 levels

Achieve 95% coverage of the transport demand


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Reduce the frequency of accidents by 30%

Reduce the number of on road fatalities by 30%

Reduce emissions from road transport by 30%

Clear 100% of public rights of way

The total cost of the plan was estimated at a total of 674 billion CFA (or $1.1 billion) to 975.2 billion

CFA (or $1.7 billion) for the only bus, or bus-rail public transport approaches.

It is noted that as the PDUD 2025 was adopted in 2009, it does not include many of the projects that

are now being pursued by the transport authorities of Dakar, such as the BRT and the TER. However,

the strategic elements of the PDUD 2025 align with the new projects as the plan is focusing on public

transport and prioritises rail infrastructure as the backbone of the public transport system.

4.3.3.4. World Bank Support Programme for Urban Transport and Mobility

The World Bank Support Programme for Urban Transport Mobility (PATMUR) was adopted in 2009.

It is a countrywide financial and institutional support programme that ensures the continuation of

the Bank’s involvement in financing and capacity building of the transport sector in Senegal. The

Bank is aiming to build on previous efforts and programmes applied in Senegal and maintain its

principal role among the country’s funding partners.

The programme has three main elements.

First element: Support for the development and the management of urban and interurban road

infrastructure (estimated cost 39 million USD financed by the International Development Agency).

This element involves both institutional (3 million USD) and project development (36 million USD).

Second element: Capacity building for the development of public transport in the Dakar

metropolitan area (estimated cost 7.8 million USD financed by the International Development

Agency and 38 million USD provided by the Senegalese government). This programme involves

support for the development of public transport services (5.9 million USD) and support for the

development of the new minibus leasing scheme (1.9 million USD). The additional funds for this

element will be used for buying the new minibuses.

Third element: Support for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation (3.2 million USD,

provided by the International Development Agency).

The programme has been assessed with medium risk after the application of risk mitigation

measures. Associated risks are the lack of funding, political will and capacities to implement the

agreed measures, lack of trust and political instability. The mitigation measures include the creation

of a road transport fund (following an unsuccessful previous effort), institutional reforms and

reinforcement of the country’s cooperation with its creditors, capacity and institutional building.

4.3.3.5. Discussion of current situation and critical issues for success

Dakar is currently experiencing intense population growth. The population of the city is expected to

grow from 3 million to 5 million in the next 5 years, putting additional pressure in the city’s needs

for energy, mobility and accessibility. The transport and traffic situation in the city is not as poor as

in other cities studied in this report and this can be attributed to the current population size of the

city. Dakar is a growing megacity and at the moment finds itself in a position where other Islamic

megacities that are currently experiencing extreme traffic conditions have been in the past. Dakar’s


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authorities have the opportunity to lead the city to a more sustainable future where transport is a

driver of economic growth rather than a contributing factor to a deteriorating urban environment.

Dakar is suffering from significant gaps and inconsistencies in terms of land use development and

transport infrastructure. Spatial mismatches are probably the most significant factor contributing to

the transport problems experienced in the city. The poor distribution of activities brings all morning

trips to Dakar, and particularly to the Plateau area, causing significant traffic problems and also long

travel times and loss of productive time. The lack of activity mix in the central area is evident even

without examining the development patterns of the city as there is a striking difference between the

vibrant and congested economic and transport activity during the day in the Plateau and the empty

almost empty streets during the night. Therefore, the decentralization of activities is an urgent

matter for Dakar.

In addition, it is crucial that any relocation of administrative, commercial or business activities

should be accompanied by economically and spatially accessible public transport links so that the

share of private cars in the trips made to the new areas remains low. The coordinated urban and

transport plans that are in the process of being adopted currently in Dakar cater for such provision

and take into account the need to reduce motorized travel. The creation of three urban poles in the

region of Dakar and the development of rapid and reliable transit links between them is an

ambitious plan that is going to provide significant congestion relief for the Plateau area. However, it

is necessary for this system to be designed taking into account its complementarily with other

modes and through which regulation this can be achieved. The proposed urban train and BRT

systems can be the backbone of the transport system of Dakar, complemented by high NMT

accessibility and feeder bus services.

Although Dakar does not suffer from the same extreme traffic conditions as other cities examined in

this study. At the same time, Dakar does not show many differences in its development patterns and

the rates of motorization. The influx of the population in the metropolitan region of Dakar will

continue to increase as economic activity and employment opportunities remain concentrated there.

In addition, as average incomes increase the tendency to buy a car as soon as this is affordable in

order to escape from the public transport dependence will persist. If no action is taken, it is highly

likely that this emerging megacity will be dealing with the same problems as Lagos or Cairo in the

future.

However, the provision of public transport alone is not sufficient to guarantee high ridership levels.

Restrictions on car access and ownership should be coupled with improved public transport. The

main challenge of imposing private car restrictions is that it is not always a politically safe decision.

Private car owners and other stakeholders involved in the automobile industry may resist to such a

decision and this may affect their support to the local or national government. There is a trade-off

between total and horizontal restrictions to entire areas for certain periods of the week or day and

imposing fees for entry as the former approach is more equitable but the latter brings financial

benefits to local authorities. The latter may be a preferable solution for cities like Dakar where the

majority of people who drive cars are relatively well off and the majority of citizens uses public

transport or NMT as their main mode of transportation therefore imposing fees to private vehicle

circulation will benefit a large part of the population and affect financially only the less vulnerable.

Dakar benefits from the socio-political stability of Senegal, its better economic performance

compared to other West African countries and its existing institutional structures in the transport


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domain. The city’s current ambitious urban development plans for the period until 2025 and 2035

which place a great significance on the transport system and efficiency of the city. In order to put

these plans forward the government is trying to attract foreign investments and to build Public

Private Partnerships (PPP). However, the fact that the prioritisation and even selection of schemes

depends on financing from external sources, puts the expected effectiveness of current plans at

stake. The government of Senegal has currently selected 27 projects for which it seeks financing as

part of the PSE, two of which are big transport infrastructure projects in Dakar (the BRT and the TER

systems).

The city’s ambitions for new infrastructure development aspire to make the city more mobile,

accessible and human friendly. However, it should be noted from the local authorities that these

plans should be accompanied by firm institutional reorganization and management of activities.

Dakar already has available funding to support capacity building and institutional restructuring

which should be used in order to ensure the most efficient allocation of financial and human

resources in the transport sector. It is suggested that although the city’s ambitious infrastructure

plans have the potential to improve transport Dakar’s conditions, due to the current lack of funding,

there should be a wider focus on rendering Dakar an attractive investment environment. Capacity

building and simple straightforward organizational structures (along with ‘one stop’ investment

opportunities) can make a big difference in attractive international interest. It is noted here that

Dakar does not enjoy the strategic position of other cities such as Cairo and Senegal’s economy is not

as strong as that of other countries. Nonetheless, the city can enhance its potential using other

advantages such as tourism.

Finally, it is considered that the social cohesion that for any urban or transport policy to be

successful, it should build upon the existing strengths and opportunities of the city. The social

cohesion and remarkable vibrancy of the city are considered to be one of the strongest assets of

Dakar. Future transport plans should not disrupt the social tissue of the city and facilitate

interaction, trade and communication in their existing forms. At the moment, active modes, walking

in particular, are beyond the authority of CETUD, and in most cases there is no management or

planning for NMT. This is should be one of the priorities for the planning authorities as walking

makes a significant contribution to social cohesion and enhances the human dimension in

megacities. In addition, the planning of streets of Dakar should build upon the current multimodality,

economic activity and social interaction levels. Transport and urban planning procedures for streets

should start with maximising public use and management of public space, rather than starting with

design solutions or more narrowly defined outcomes. Where the self-managing capacity of informal

retail does not exist, a planning process can deliver participation, self-regulation, or formalisation

through investment in elevating the role of the vendor (Kent, 2013).


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5. SWOT Analysis of OIC Megacity Transport Issues

This chapter is a SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) analysis of urban

transport in the remaining 5 OIC megacities. An analysis of the current transport conditions for each

city is made based on the framework developed in the literature review. The analysis is made based

on research that was not conducted on site. A SWOT analysis table for each city is provided at the

end of each section, based on an assessment of each city. The purpose of the SWOT analysis is to

shape a profile of the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of each city in order to

better understand its urban transport conditions. By consolidating the analysis in SWOT format not

only does it become easier to identify the key challenges for a megacity but also the common

problems across megacities. A SWOT analysis is a quick and straightforward contextual analysis and

provides a wide range of information, which can then be used a basis for a more thorough review of

the problems of each city. However, it is noted that a SWOT analysis is not possible to reflect the

complexity of transport issues in a city or provide a solid basis for the prioritization of policies and

plans.

The outcome of the SWOT analyses, along with the literature review and the outcome of the 3 case

studies will be used in the following chapter where recommendations are given for all OIC

megacities. The following sections therefore present the SWOT analysis of the remaining5 OIC

megacities.

5.1. Lagos


In terms of administration, Lagos is not a single municipality and has therefore no overall city

administration. The urban area of Greater Lagos (after this indicated as Lagos Metropolitan

Area/LMA or Lagos) comprises of 16 separate municipalities, which are also known as Local

Government Area (LGA). These 16 LGAs together with 4 other LGAs comprise Lagos State. For this

study, LMA will be used as study area.

Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria. Based on the Federal Census carried out by the National

Population Commission (NPC) of Nigeria, the population of LMA in 2006 is 7.9 million. The annual

growth rate from 1991 to 2006 was 3.5% (Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Master Plan, 2008).

The growth of Lagos is primarily the result of its location on the west coast of Africa which has

fostered the development of trade with the hinterland as well as with the neighbouring international

countries. The role of Lagos as the administrative capital of Nigeria until December 1991 also

contributed to her growth.

Lagos State is the smallest state in Nigeria, but it is the most populous in Africa. It is interesting to

note that the population characteristics of the state are heterogeneous with most parts of the nation

being represented. Again, despite the relocation of the Federal Capital to Abuja, Lagos State remains,

undoubtedly, the economic nerve centre of the country. It harbours almost all the headquarters of

the multinational companies in the country. Lagos, occupies an eminent position based on all urban

indicators, most especially demography. It should be noted that all other cities are relatively small in

terms of commercial, industrial and trading activities in comparison to Lagos. Demographically, the

density of Lagos is much higher than other cities in Nigeria. According to Taiwo (2005), while

Nigeria’s population density is 100 persons per square kilometre (psk), that of Lagos is about 2,400

psk.


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In terms of transportation, Lagos area is naturally endowed with navigable creeks, lagoons and

water body that are suitable for urban transit services. It also has rail line that links the commercial

southern part of the city with the dormitory settlement of the North. As a result, Lagos has the

potential of benefiting from a seamless transportation system. Ironically, road transport dominates

more than 90% of all urban movement (Oni, 2004). According to Taiwo (2005) there are about

2,600 km of roads in Lagos. These roads are frequently congested with over 1 million vehicular

density of over 222 vehicles/km against country average of 11 km. The average Lagos commuter

spends over three hours in traffic every day (Aleshinloye, 2014).

Lagos suffers from almost all known transport illnesses, which severely limit mobility and

accessibility especially to the poor. The major problems of the transport system are:

- Absence of urban rail based- mass transit system

Currently, Lagos has only a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that has been in operation since

2008.

- Lack of transport infrastructure that connects the slums areas to the activity and employment

centres.

- Capacity of the existing arterial road system lags behind due to a rapid annual rate of car

ownership level.

- Poor traffic management

- Weak institutional structure


Basically the state lies on low lands, with about 17,500 ha of built up area of which residential areas

occupy the single largest proportion of 51.9%, commercial 4.8%, industrial 8.4%, institutional and

special use 13.7%, open spaces 2.6% and transportation 18.6% (Olayiwola et al., 2005). Lagos has

several central business districts (CBDs), which reflect the city’s internal structure approximating to

the “multiple nuclei structure”.

The major influencing factor on land use pattern in LMA is the physical environment. For example

much development cannot take place towards the south because of the Atlantic Ocean. The over

concentration of urban activities, the agglomeration and increased separation of residencies to work

place have created the need for daily journey to work on a massive scale (Oni, 1992).


Lagos is Nigeria’s major traffic centre and the most heavily motorized urban area in the country. In

2013, the demand for trips in LMA by all modes (including walking) was 22 million trips per day.

The rapid increase in population and standard of living will bring the daily demand for trips to 40

million per day by 2032 (Mobereola, 2014).


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Figure 38: Observed mode share of motorized trips in LMA in 2013

Source: Consultant

5.1.4.1. Private motorized transport

Ownership of a car or motorcycle in LMA is much more common than air conditioner or computer.

The households’ primary mode of travel is public bus which accounts for around 77% of the total

number of households. In looking at the comparison of car ownership and use, it appears that more

people use cars than own them, presumably because households share use of vehicles for

commuting.

Although car ownership level in Lagos is still low, the absolute number of cars is growing at a rapid

annual rate (more than 5%) which makes the capacity of the current arterial system, which was built

more than a decade ago, cannot deal with the high demand which is still increasing rapidly.


The current public transport in Lagos consists of:

- Danfo (minibuses), which are mostly old, and owned and operated by single operators. This

kind of highly atomized and un-integrated system is very inefficient in terms of operating

costs and results in poor service with long travel time and relatively expensive trips;

- Commuter rail service, that serves only 1% of the commuters in Lagos;

- A BRT corridor, which has 22 km route and is operated with 220 buses, is a key component

to address transportation and other infrastructural problems in Lagos. BRT Lagos has

provided Lagosians access to a decent, more comfortable bus transport system that

guarantees faster travel time.

- Okada (motor cycle taxi), a commercial motorcycle used as a vehicle for hire.

In response to the enormous transport challenges in Lagos, the Lagos State Government created the

Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), which is responsible for the formulation,

coordination and implementation of urban transport policies and programmes. LAMATA has

developed a Strategic Transport Master Plan that specifies the infrastructure details of the modal

routes to address the urban transport challenges in Lagos. It is planned that in 2030 Lagos will have

the following public transport network:

- Lagos Urban Rail Network

A network of urban rail-based systems covering six light rail and one monorail mass transit

corridors of high commuter traffic demand within and beyond the LMA extending to border

areas. It is currently being constructed and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concept

72%

19%

2% 2%

2% 2% 1%

Unregulated buses

Cars

Regulated buses

BRT

Motorcycles

Water

Rail


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will be integrated around the stations to improve connections to activity areas. The Blue

Line will be operational in 2016.

BRT network

The current BRT corridor is planned to be extended with eight different corridors within the

metropolis.

- Water transportation

Six corridors have been identified and two of them have already been opened with

passenger daily service. The development of water transportation has helped integrate

transportation modes in the city and brought relief to neighbourhoods that line the water

corridors, as well as helping to ease overall traffic congestion. It has also opened up new

avenues of investment and employment opportunities.

- Cable car

A 12.85 km network of cable cars serving the metropolis of Lagos and connecting Lagos

Island with both the mainland and Victoria Island, which is not directly served by the mass

transit networks. The project is being planned and expected to start operations in 2015. This

project will act to relieve pressure on the traffic system, alleviating congestion and reducing

pollution.

5.1.4.3. Non-Motorized transport

In 2013, walk trips accounted for 40% of total trips in LMA. However, infrastructure and facilities for

non-motorized transport (NMT) are very limited due to the problem of road capacity and land use

around most cities points. As a result, the level of interaction between pedestrians and motorists is

very high. Cycle way is absent due to the non-recognition of such NMT mode, and there is no

adequate funding for NMT in Lagos.

The majority of walkways in Lagos are used for trading and as parking lots. Most of the walkways

also suffer from obstruction.

5.1.5. Freight

Freight transportation plays an important role in the economy of Lagos, as the demand for goods

transport is strongly dependent on the level and nature of economic activities (Oni, 2004 in

Somuyiwa, 2010). Vehicular volume for freight has continued to increase over the years and capacity

expansion has been regarded as a major panacea to minimization of road traffic congestion in LMA.

Ironically, the construction of new roads and expansion of old ones by successive administrations in

Lagos has never ameliorated the problem (Somuyiwa, 2010).

Despite the large volumes of goods transported from and to LMA, there is no accurate and reliable

data of origins and destinations of the goods, which hinders an effective and efficient analysis of

freight transport as well as transport planning of LMA (Mckinnon, 1998; Nockold, 2001 in

Somuyiwa, 2010). According to Somuyiwa (2010), industrial areas need to be planned relatively to

design, operations and maintenance of roads for instance, such that ultimate objectives of logistics

can be achieved. This can only be done through several advance techniques such as geographic

information system, global positioning system, logistics knowledge, intelligent transport system and

modelling to optimize the city environment, such that it assists in reducing both transport cost and

negative environmental impact.


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5.1.6. Road safety

Traffic congestion in Lagos leads to not only increased fuel consumption and emission, but also high

accident rates. The increasing rate of road accidents has promoted more the need for private car

ownership. NMT users are the most vulnerable ones due to poorly protected street space for them.

Accident rate in Lagos is considered the highest in the world (World Bank, 2008).


In the last decade, transportation infrastructure has been the focus of the public expenditure and

PPP scheme is centre in financing transport sector in Lagos. For the BRT for example, LAMATA set

up the first line with support from the World Bank. Private operators run the line in partnership

with the National Union of Road Transport. Commercial banks also take part by funding loans for

purchasing the vehicles used by the private operators.

Following the effectiveness of PPP venture for the BRT system, LAMATA was keen to explore the

PPP scheme for the implementation of its rail projects, under which the first metro line is being

constructed.

5.1.8. Health

5.1.8.1. Air quality and pollution

The profile of air pollution in Lagos by type and source reveals that road traffic is the major source of

air pollution in the city. Other sources include industries, dumpsites, open incinerators, and power

generators. The reason for this is not farfetched, 60% of all activities are carried out using motor

vehicles. Air pollutants of concern in Lagos include NOx, SO2, and particulate matter. These gases

have serious consequences on people’s health. Arising from the health implications of air pollution is

that of the economics of it. It is believed that cost of air pollution in Lagos would have increased

medical costs such as medicines and hospital visits and on productivity losses.

5.1.8.2. Physical activity

Despite of high motorization rate in Lagos, walk trips has also a significant modal share, which is

40% of total trips in LMA (see NMT section). These trips are mostly done by low income travellers

who cannot afford to pay public transport fares. The advantage of a high number of pedestrians in

Lagos is the physical activity by walking that they perform regularly, can positively contribute to

their health condition (reduce risk of diseases such as cancer and diabetes).

On the other hand, pedestrians are those who are directly and mostly affected by air pollution

exhausted by motorized vehicles due to congested traffic in Lagos.


The humid tropical climate of Lagos is influenced by her coastal location and nearness to the equator

and is characterized by two distinct seasons: wet and dry season. During the rainy season many

parts of Lagos are susceptible to flooding. Major causes of floods in built-up areas are uncontrolled

expansion of impermeable surfaces due to increasing urbanization resulting in increased runoff

volume, runoff responses under high intensity rainfall, building on floodplains, lack of storm water

drainage, failure to maintain existing drainage systems and weak institutional capacity of the urban

administration.


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According to many studies, climate change has been responsible to the changes in the intensity and

pattern of storms in Lagos. Fewer rainstorms recorded in the latter period are much heavier than

those of the earlier period with a tendency to producing more floods. Since most of Lagos lies 10

meters or less above sea level, infrastructural investments have also been driven by the need for

climate resilient development.

Lagos State’s transportation sector contributes to almost 50% of Nigeria’s greenhouse gas (GHG)

emission. The deployment of BRT has been acknowledged to reducing CO2 emissions from urban

transport by 13% (UNEP, 2013).



Mobility and quality of life of elderly in Lagos are significantly related to the quality of

neighbourhood (Alade et al, 2013). Quality of life in this context is linked with the socioeconomic

attributes of the people and the quality of transport system available to them in the pursuit of their

daily activities. Old people in planned residential neighbourhoods tend to have higher quality of life

in terms of socioeconomic status and mobility than those in unplanned communities, as

neighbourhood quality to a great extent determines the quality of transport infrastructure which in

turn affects quality of life.

5.1.10.2. Gender

In Lagos, women are the worst hit of the prevailing criminal activities in public transport (Olufemi,

2009). Women are often perceived by perpetrators of crime as weaker sex, thus their inability to

defend themselves against crime partly, made them frequent victims or prey to crime in public

transport. High demand or rush for public transport during peak periods often generates disorderly

behaviour and simultaneously leads to a conducive environment for criminal activities of different

types.

Most criminal activities occur while waiting for buses and okada because most bus stops are being

wrongly located and poorly designed. Such criminal activities in public transport have continuously

affected the travel pattern and livelihoods of women in Lagos.


The role of Lagos as an economic activity centre has attracted migrants from other parts of the

country and West Africa. However, this does not go hand in hand with adequate housing for the

residents. Unmanaged urban growth has seen land prices shoot up, pushing many out of the city. As

a result, slum communities have grown rapidly in Lagos which lack basic infrastructural facilities

and characterized by extremely poor environmental conditions. Almost 70% of Lagos’ population

consequently live in slums, makes Lagos one of the poorest of the world’s largest cities. Poverty in

Lagos is deeper and more severe than in the country as a whole, with occupations of the poor mostly

self-employed in street trading and unskilled tasks in the informal sector.

The slums are not properly connected to the road network because the pace of the development of

the primary and secondary road network does not match the pace of the urban growth. In addition,

areas that are not easily accessible cannot develop local activity centres that may substitute to some

extent the traditional activity centres in the Central Business District (CBD). Furthermore,

inadequate regulatory public transport framework affects the poor who are often vulnerable to high

cost of transportation. The poor rely heavily on public transport to access work, health care and


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educational facilities. Bus remains the favoured mode of transport for the city’s large poor

population. Transport fares amount to 20% of budget for poor households (World Bank, 2008).


The continued pressure on land has harmed the human dimension of urban planning in Lagos. Slums

were formed that lack of basic urban infrastructure services, such as safe water, storm drainage and

flood prevention, electricity, access roads, public transport, sanitation, and solid waste management.

In those low-income areas, the household density is very high, i.e. 6 – 10 members per household (5

– 8 persons per room) living with minimum social amenities.

In the last decade, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development has undertaken several

initiatives to improve this condition, such as renewal of urban areas, slum upgrading, upgrading

urban facilities, social rehabilitation and economic empowerment.

5.1.12. SWOT table Lagos

Based on the literature review and desk research of the urban transport conditions and plans of

Lagos, the following SWOT analysis can be summarized below:

Strengths Strategic location as the economic hub of West

Africa (great economic potential).

Extensive waterfronts, water bodies and port

facilities.

Global recognition as an economic centre.

Large and diverse population

High demand for public transport

Existence of LAMATA as Transport Authority

and its willingness to expand public transport

network.

Weaknesses Massive daily traffic congestion

Inadequate and overburdened transport

infrastructure

Low recognition of NMT policy

Poor freight transport planning

Housing shortage

Social and economic exclusion

Increasing poverty rate

Rapid population growth

Poor regulations, weak enforcement, and lack

of capacity

Low gender and urban poor inclusion

Poor road safety (very high accident rate)

Poor air quality

Opportunities Harbours almost all the headquarters of the

multinational companies in the country.

Attractive for investments.

Growing economy.

High mode share of walking.

Threats Uncontrolled urban sprawl due to high rate of

in-migration

Unsafe urban environment and terrorism

The strategic location of Lagos has been its greatest strength. With its extensive waterfronts, water

bodies and port facilities, Lagos has become the economic hub of West Africa. This contributes

mainly to Lagos’ rapid population growth which in turn becomes one of the weaknesses of Lagos as

it creates bigger problems for Lagos, such as housing shortage and increasing poverty rate.

Lagos’ large and diverse population can also be seen in a positive way, as it creates high demand for

public transport which is essential to provide efficient urban transit services. The existence of

LAMATA as the transport authority for Lagos Metropolitan Area is a good example for other

megacities in developing worlds as it ensures an integrated and a coordinated transport policies and


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programmes for the metropolitan area. LAMATA’s willingness to extend Lagospublic transport

network, not only land but also water based, is also a strength to realise sustainable urban transport

in Lagos.

This is also supported by opportunities that Lagos has, such as harbouring a lot of economic

headquarters, which shows that Lagos is an attractive place for investments and that it has a positive

economic growth. In terms of sustainable transport, walking is a basic demand in Lagos as many

people cannot afford to pay for using public transport. As such, walking has a high mode share in

Lagos. This should be seen as an opportunity to promote more sustainable transport modes in Lagos

as the demand already exists. However, despite the high demand of walking, the policy recognition

for NMT modes is very poor. This results in a very high rate of accidents involving NMT users due to

a high level of interaction between them and motorists.

Just like many other megacities, Lagos is facing massive daily traffic congestion due to its inadequate

and overburdened, mainly road, transport infrastructure. Uncontrolled urban sprawl due to a high

rate of in-migration, which has been threatened Lagos, also creates the need for daily journey to

work on a massive scale.

5.2. Karachi


Karachi is the largest urban and economic centre of Pakistan. According to the United Nations

(2014) the population of the urban agglomeration of Karachi is currently 16 million and it is

expected that it will reach about 25 million by 2030. It is located in the south of Pakistan, on the

Arabian Sea, west of the Indus River mouth. Karachi was the capital of Pakistan from the

independence of Pakistan in 1947 until 1958, when Islamabad was built in the north of the country

to provide a better distribution of functions and activity in the country. Karachi remained the capital

of Sindh province and never loses its industrial, business and financial capital character and

(Qureshi and Huapu, 2007; Qureshi, 2010).

The city has experienced a rapid growth since 1947, when it had a population of 0.4 million living in

an urban area of 233 km2. By 2004, the city had seen a 35 fold increase in its population and a 16

fold increase in its spatial expansion, reaching 14 million people and 3566km2 of urban area. Urban

growth in Karachi was predominantly induced by the influx of migrants and refugees. In 1971, a

huge number of refugees migrated from East Pakistan (current Bangladesh) and similarly in the 80s

from Afghanistan. Census in 1981 revealed a total of 1.72 million refugees in Karachi with more than

2.15 million in 1998 (Qureshi and Huapu, 2007; Qureshi, 2010).

Until 2001, Karachi was considered as division and comprised of five administrative districts:

Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi South, Karachi Central and Malir. From August 2001, it has been

subdivided into 18 towns, each having Union Councils as further subdivision. Karachi has total 178

Union Councils with a population of around 55 to 65 thousand people each. After the subdivision, the

City District Government Karachi (CDGK) acquired increased administrative power to steer and

guide the city’s growth. The current organizational structure of CDGK is detailed and complex

(Qureshi, 2010).


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5.2.2. Land use planning and urban form

Karachi is a monocentric city where over 70% of the businesses and about half of the retail trade and

public services are located in the central business district. Rapid population growth and spatial

expansion have led to a sharp increase in the demand for urban transport facilities as they were not

accompanied by the appropriate development planning. Five urban plans have been developed for

the city since 1949 but none of them has been implemented in the city. As a consequence the city

suffers from a chronic shortage of basic facilities such as housing, water supply, electricity and public

transport. It is estimated that 50% of the population of Karachi currently lives in informal housing.

The density of the population varies significantly from the city centre to the suburbs, reaching more

than 24,000 people per square kilometre in the densest, central areas.

5.3. Istanbul


Istanbul has been an attractive location since even before the Byzantine era due to its strategic

location, connecting Europe and Asia through the Bosporus Strait. The city has experienced rapid

growth after WWI and became the core of the Turkish economy. Today, Istanbul has a population of

14 million (18% of Turkey). The average population density has increased from 1,000 people per

km2 in the 1980s to an average of 2,400 people per km2 today, varying considerably up to 20,000

people km2 in central areas with peaks of 40,000 to 70,000 people per km2 in totally urbanised areas

on the European side (Alpkokin et al, 2005; Hennig, 2011). Istanbul remains Turkey’s centre of

economic activity, where almost one fifth of the country’s GDP is produced.


Two thirds of the population of Istanbul live on the European part of the city. However, the

population of the Asia part has grown more rapidly since the 1980s. Migration, particularly from the

southeast part of Turkey, has expanded the urban limits and new residential areas have spread

across the shore of the Sea of Marmara and also beyond the municipal limits, into the northern

forested areas towards the Black Sea. As a result of the rapid and extensive growth the city has

changed from double centred (Eminonu – Beyoglu) to multicentre with various sub centres on the

European and Asia side. New areas away from the original city centre have developed as car

dominated residential or mixed use with industrial and business parks (Henning, 2011).

The polycentric form of the city was supported by the 1995 Istanbul Metropolitan Area Sub-Region

Master Plan which aimed to achieve linear and multi-centred urban growth, but with a degree of

hierarchical ranking. The main target of this plan was to abandon the concept of the double centred

developed as under the burden of rapid urbanisation this could destroy the historical identity of

Istanbul. Policies to achieve this involved developing ranked sub centres, generating wing attraction

centres, and the preparation and application of development plans, and removing the Law Courts,

buildings of the Central Government, and similar public bodies and institutions, from the city centre

and redistributing them to the sub centres. Supporting policies included creating organized

employment areas and generating feasible, low priced land and planning the integration of

employment areas into the residential settlement areas while considering acceptable travel time

lengths for access (Alpkokin, 2005).


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5.3.3. Institutions and organization

Istanbul’s urban transport authority, IETT, was created in 1939, when tram, Tünel (a short funicular

between Pera and Galata), bus and electricity establishments, which had been operated by various

foreign companies until that time, were nationalized. Today, IETT is responsible only for the public

transport system, which includes buses, BRT (Metrobüs) and Tunnel Operations and also

responsible for the management and inspection of Private Bus Transit Services. Istanbul’s metro and

light network are operated by Ulasim, ferries are operated by Sehir Hatlari and IDO. These divisions

work and are administered like companies, nonetheless they remain within the ownership of the

metropolitan municipality.

The coordination and integration of other and private operators (taxis, dolmus, minibuses, or ferry

companies) into the overall system is administered by the municipality as well. The dynamic

development of the city requires the formation of a single authority which will manage planning,

financing and compensating the private sector under a single interface. More benefits of competition

and better performance are expected when suitable contracts are awarded to independent operating

companies. A private company may be more flexible to changed demands or new technologies.

5.3.4. Urban freight and logistics

Istanbul is the node of Turkey’s international transportation corridors, processing 60% of the

country’s total trade volume and has been strengthened by recent major transnational transport

infrastructure projects, expansion of the multimodal transport and improved port management

systems. The city, as well as maintaining and overland routes to other countries, is a key part of a

major industrial area which is located close to the vital Black Sea- Mediterranean Sea route

(Oguztimur and Canci, 2011).

Both in Turkey and Istanbul logistics activities are mostly consist of transportation and custom

operations. In Istanbul logistics functions have traditionally been unplanned and unbalanced.

Besides the development problems, the existing ports (Ambarlı and Haydarpaşa) have inadequate

capacity and do not have rail links, while highway links can also be problematic. In addition, in the

absence of a logistics centres, depots are scattered in and around the city, exacerbating the

congestion and reducing the efficiency of urban freight operations. The lack of coordinated and

integrated transport planning and investment for logistics and freight also contributes to the lack of

efficiency in operations. In the case of air transport, the lack of a master plan for air transport, and

lack of research and development, is compounded by various inadequacies and management

problems in cargo terminals which are already very limited in number. Also, regarding railway

transportation, logistics firms suffer from an accumulated lack of investment, limited rolling stock,

management problems, and an outmoded and inadequate network (Oguztimur and Canci, 2011).

In 2006 the Greater Istanbul Municipality Planning Department, prepared an Environmental Plan. In

the plan report the objective of competitiveness and promoting Istanbul as a ‘‘global city”, and the

objective of environmental sustainability were both emphasized. The report asserted that the

advantage of geographical proximity of Istanbul to Europe should be fully utilized to promote the

city as a logistics centre for companies operating in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Middle East

markets. Because the quality of products and their fast and cheap delivery has become a priority,

Turkey should be able to compete with China or other countries (Oguztimur and Canci, 2011).

In order to provide access for inflows and outflows of industrial products, the Greater Istanbul

Municipality also proposed new logistics centres, port developments, transportation infrastructure


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embellishments, and improvements in existing ports and airports. In the plan, various measures

have been proposed in order to relieve the city from unwanted traffic, and to increase the efficacy of

logistics activities. These measures include the removal of customs facilities from residential areas,

launching new roll-on, roll-off (Ro Ro) lines in the Marmara Sea, banning further housing

development around existing ports and airports, and providing facilities for combined

transportation (Oguztimur and Canci, 2011).

5.4. Dhaka


Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and one of the fastest growing megacities in the world. Dhaka’s

population saw an exponential increase since the 1950s which was triggered by its role as the capital

of East Pakistan (1949-1971) and later as the capital of Bangladesh (after the 1971 Independence).

The increase in population is attributed mainly due to rural urban migration triggered by the lack of

employment opportunities, poverty, and natural disasters. The rapid development of Dhaka into a

megacity was coupled with an inadequate urban management system, which led to a chronic

shortage of housing, excessive overcrowding, traffic congestion, increasing informal economic

activities and also, air, soil, water pollution, slum development in flood prone areas and a

deteriorating situation for public health.

5.4.2. Transport network and land use planning

Dhaka’s infrastructure doesn’t match the scale of its population and only 7% of the city is covered by

roads, compared with around 25% of Paris and Vienna and 40% of Washington and Chicago. Dhaka

also suffers from the absence of road hierarchy while there are 650 major intersections, but only 60

traffic lights, which are not maintained properly. The cost of Dhaka’s traffic congestion is estimated

at $3.8 billion a year, including only time losses and pollution, and not deterioration of quality of life

and social capital. The poor infrastructure and undeveloped road network has forced the residents

of Dhaka to crowd into the middle of the city, setting up informal settlements between high rise

buildings and walk to work (Hobbes, 2014).


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Figure 39: Typical rickshaw traffic conditions in Dhaka

Source: Mattia Latini

Mode availability

Out of about total 21 million trips generated in Dhaka metropolitan area every day, only 5% are

carried out by private cars, which however use roughly 80% of the road space and are the main

cause of traffic congestion. Yet 28% of the total trips are carried out by buses which only use about 5

% of the road space. In addition, 58% of the total trips are made by walking, bicycling, or riding on

rickshaws. But these NMT modes barely get proper allocation of road space. There are no dedicated

bicycle or rickshaw lanes on any roads in Dhaka and less than 25% of roads have separated, paved

sidewalks, most of which are either occupied by parked cars or damaged without proper

maintenance. NMT users expose their lives to risk as they move in the city (Fang, 2014).

5.4.3. Road safety

According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the number of road fatalities in

Bangladesh was higher than the number of accidents. Although these statistics refer to the entire

country and do not necessarily reflect the actual figures (as it is only the information provided by the

police) they provide a good idea of the current situation in the country. Older data for Dhaka

indicates that almost a fifth of road accidents In Bangladesh are concentrated in Dhaka.

National road safety strategies have been adopted in the past (1997-1999 and 2002-2004) but

despite the fact that they were comprehensive achieved very little. In addition, awareness campaigns

have been organized, which were mostly concentrated on highway accidents. In Dhaka, almost 75%

of accidents involve pedestrians12 (Maniruzzaman and Mitra, 2005; BRAC, 2005; World Bank, 2013).

12 For example, according to other official sources every year about 10,000 people are killed in road accidents in the country (BBC, 2011).


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Table 11: Road accidents and casualties statistics

Year Total Number of accidents

Deaths Injuries Total casualties

2004 3917 2968 2752 5720

2005 3955 3187 2755 5942

2006 3794 3193 2409 5602

2007 4869 3749 3273 7022

2008 4427 3765 3284 7049

2009 3381 2958 2686 5644

2010 2827 2646 1803 4449

2011 2667 2546 1641 4187

2012 2636 2538 2134 4672

2013 2029 1957 1396 3353

2014 2027 2067 1535 3602

Source: BRTA, 2015


Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) was established in 2001 and is responsible for

coordinating the transport operators and development agencies that are involved in transport

projects in Dhaka. Along with the chronic extreme traffic conditions, DTCA has to deal with a big

number of private operators who provide their services under little or no official control. At the

same time, the number of operators and rickshaw drivers who operate outside of DTCA’s authority

lead to the further deregulation of the traffic conditions.

5.4.5. Infrastructure financing

Dhaka has received support from international organizations such as JICA and the World Bank in

order to relieve its congested roads, build key infrastructure, introduce mass transit systems and

develop strategic plans.

The Dhaka Urban Transport Project (DUTP) was one of the first World Bank projects aimed at easing

the complex transport problems facing Bangladesh's capital. As the city's urban transport problems

cannot be solved by any single project, this project focused on the most urgent infrastructure issues.

The World Bank’s aim was to help the Government of Bangladesh develop, refine, and implement

appropriate strategies for managing road traffic and services in Dhaka. It also aimed to assist in the

preparation of an urban transport policy and a 20-year strategic transport plan for the Dhaka

Metropolitan Area (DMA). The project closed on June 30, 2005.

The project has brought about some marked improvements:

Phasing out of two stroke three wheelers has improved air quality;

Pedestrian footbridges and footways have been built as a first effort to make movement

easier for the city’s poorest people who can only afford to walk;

Flood damaged roads have been rehabilitated;


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Traffic conditions have improved with better traffic management on arterial corridors and at

major junctions with some 60 traffic signals installed;

The Mohakhali Flyover, the single largest contract under the project, is easing traffic

congestions and delays;

Some public transport services along project corridors have improved;

Three major inter-district bus terminals have been rehabilitated;

National vehicle and driver licensing systems have been computerized and agency personnel

trained;

The regulatory framework for public transport has been reviewed, a policy for enforcing

parking restrictions drafted, and bus route franchising pilots proposed to improve bus

services;

An urban transport policy, a plan for institutional strengthening and capacity building and a

strategic transport plan for improving transport services in Dhaka have been developed for

the 2005-2025 period.

Despite the many improvements, however, these changes have not reached the levels intended at the

project design stage. This is because the project’s components had to be restructured at the time of

the midterm review in early 2002, and were reduced by 40% due to unsatisfactory progress. Also,

the project had limited impact on strengthening the DMA's institutional and policy framework to

address transport planning and coordination issues (World Bank, 2013).

The World Bank also supported the conversion of one pilot corridor to a rickshaw free zone which

reduced travel time by about 30% per trip. Studies show that most travellers in this zone support

this conversion, some segments of the population, especially rickshaw pullers who plied these

routes, and some travellers who relied on rickshaws for short distance trips, have been adversely

affected. The wider implementation was eventually abandoned as aggregate positive impacts of NMT

free conversion on transport users and transport providers did not outweigh the aggregate negative

impact (World Bank, 2013; ITDP, 2005).

In addition, the government of Bangladesh has received a loan from the Asian Development Bank to

implement the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project which involves a building a 20

km long BRT route, starting from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Gazipur. Once BRT

project is in operation, it will carry 20 thousand passenger/hour/direction and travelling time will

be half of the present (Bangladesh Bridge Authority, 2015).

5.4.6. Health

Air pollution is a severe problem in Dhaka. Traffic is one of the major sources of particulate matter

and gaseous pollutants in the city. The numerous three wheelers and taxis are the most polluting

vehicles while constant congestion leads to toxic levels of pollutants in the atmosphere. Policy

interventions are primarily focused on traffic emissions. The banning of leaded petrol and two

stroke vehicles in 1999 and 2003, the promotion of compressed natural gas and the introduction of

air pollution control devices have led to a slow but steady improvement (Burkart et al, 2007).


In Dhaka, a large proportion of greenhouse gases come from the electricity and transport sectors,

although their contribution to total global greenhouse gas emissions is negligible. Given the rate of

population growth in Dhaka, electricity consumption and the transport sector, the city’s contribution


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to global greenhouse gases will increase. It must be noted that brick kilns around the city and landfill

sites also contribute to global greenhouse gases. They usually operate for about six months a year,

and every year in the dry season, they burn nearly 2 million tons of coal (Alam and Rabbani, 2007).

At the same time Dhaka is severely affected by the effects of climate change. The city has faced a

number of severe floods since its early days and its vulnerability to these resulted in the building of

the Buriganga River flood embankment in 1864. Severe flooding in Greater Dhaka is mainly the

result of spill over from surrounding rivers that flow to and from the major rivers of the country, as

well as internal water logging. In recent history, Dhaka has experienced major floods in 1954, 1955,

1970, 1974, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1998 and 2004, due to overflowing of surrounding rivers. Of these,

the 1988, 1998 and 2004 floods were the most damaging (Alam and Rabbani, 2007).

Table 12: SWOT table Dhaka

Strengths

High densities Availability of financial support from

international organizations

Weaknesses

Extremely large mismatch of supply and demand

Air pollution Chronic congestion

Opportunities

Social cohesion Political stability Political willingness to make transport more

sustainable

Threats

Lack of urban management Threats of flooding Rapidly increasing population Slow development of infrastructure Informal transport and housing sectors

5.5. Tehran


Tehran is the biggest and most populous city in Iran. As explained earlier, although its metropolitan

area has a population of only 7.5 million, the population of the city during the day can reach up to 12

million as commuters arrive from the heavily urbanised wider region of Tehran. The city covers an

area of nearly 800 square kilometres. Tehran had a population of 0.7 million in 1941 and since then

it was heavily urbanised and expanded, becoming one of the major megacities in the Middle East

region (ITDP, 2011; Shoar, 2008; Allen, 2013).

Over the past two decades, the metropolitan region of Tehran has been growing at a rate of about

one% per year. Along with the challenge of growing transport demand the city was faced with the

general public’s rising expectations in terms of quality of life. The authorities of Tehran have

examined and implemented a number of sustainable transport solutions and made a significant

improvement that was internationally recognised. Tehran was nominated for the Sustainable

Transport Award by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy. The city has developed a

comprehensive public transport policy, which was embedded into its vision of improving quality of

life by having integrated, available, safe, easy, comfortable and clean transportation system,

delivered within limited resources (ITDP, 2011; Shoar, 2008; Allen, 2013).


Tehran municipality is currently organized as a monocentric city with a major CBD (districts 6, 7, 11

and 12) where most commercial activities are concentrated. The CBD is surrounded by several

residential areas. Most of the future urban development is expected to take place in the north and


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eastern parts of the city with lower levels of development in the south of the city (districts 21 and

22). The Greater Tehran region includes several small and medium sized surrounding cities (Karaj,

Varamin, Eslamshahr, Shahrian), whose populations have increased without an equivalent increase

in the number of jobs, which remain concentrated in Tehran. This generates large numbers of

commuting trips both within the city also to and from the smaller surrounding cities (Allen, 2013).

Tehran’s planning history shows early stages in which new infrastructure was designed and

developed by the government as part of its strategy for modernisation and growth management. The

intensity of speculative development after the Second World War met the demands of the

exponential growth of the city’s population. This, however, needed to be controlled and regulated

through a planning process, which produced Tehran’s comprehensive plan of 1968. Within a decade,

the revolution interrupted its implementation, and growth could only be managed through

piecemeal efforts. The period of reconstruction in the 1990s relaxed some of the limits of the 1968

plan, which showed the urgent need for an updated planning framework (Madanipour, 2006).

The municipality of Tehran produced its own strategic plan for the period 1996–2001, known as

Tehran Municipality’s First Plan, or Tehran 80. The plan allowed higher densities through bonus

zoning. This, however, was not based on planning considerations, but was mainly to bring financial

autonomy to the municipality. Developers could build taller buildings by paying fines to the

municipality, in a policy popularly known as ‘‘selling density’’, without having to show their impacts

on the surrounding environment. The face of the city, particularly in its northern parts, was

transformed in a short period, consisting of medium to high rise buildings connected through wide

streets and motorways. In the poorer south, a major redevelopment project, Navab, cut a motorway

through the dense and decayed fabric, building superstructures on each side (Madanipour, 2006).

This controversial period of reconstruction was followed by a period of democratic reform, which

re-launched an elected city council for the city. The council published its own vision of the city as

Tehran Charter in 2001, which was the summary of the principles agreed between council members,

nongovernmental principles, which were used to develop strategies for natural and built

environments, transport, social, cultural and economic issues, urban management, and the city’s

regional, national and international roles (Madanipour, 2006).

National government started work on a transport master plan for Iran at about this time, using

outside consultants, looking at the investment needed to satisfy the growing demand and to try plan

better for the future. With Tehran as the capital city and also the main urban centre for generating

wealth, it was important to develop a transport master plan for Tehran that would also support the

national transport plan (Allen, 2013).

5.5.3. Mode availability

In Tehran, 22% of trips are made by bus, 23% by shared taxi, 10% by metro, 10% by minibus, 7%

walking and cycling (NMT) and 28% by private car (Allen, 2013).

5.5.3.1. Private motorized vehicles

Private motorized vehicles are still expensive to buy but their number is expected to grow by almost

60% within the next twenty years as people will be able to afford goods vehicles, cars and

motorbikes. Increase in private car travel is observed but many vehicles are used for more than one

purpose due to their high buying cost. Nonetheless, in 2009, the existing heavy subsidies on fuels

were removed in order to cut down the use of private motorized vehicles. In addition, Tehran is one


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of the few cities in the region that has put in place comprehensive demand management measures to

restrict vehicle access to inner Tehran by implementing a Congestion Charging System. Access of all

vehicles to the inner central business district (19 square kilometres) has been restricted since 1981

which was later extended to cover 31 square kilometres. An annual fee has to be paid to enter this

area and an even and odd number plate enforcement is in place in a slightly larger zone. Trucks and

lorries are restricted across a larger area. At first, monitoring was done by the police via 65 gateway

entrances but this was difficult to enforce and violations ran at over 30%. Today measures include

the implementation of automatic speed cameras, and automatic control system (Allen, 2013).


As part of historic legacy, even in the late nineties, Tehran had a reasonably dense, quite heavily used

but ageing network of suburban and intercity rail transport services. In addition, the metropolitan

area of Tehran has an extended network of highways (280 km) and of interchange ramps & loops

(180km). In 2007 there were 130 kilometres of highways and 120 kilometres of ramps and loops

under construction (Tehran Municipality, 2015).

A metro system had been planned since the 1970s but only became operational in 2001. Problems

arising from the late completion of the metro led to buses taking on the role of the metro lines,

serving mainly long distance routes while a large number of taxis filled the void for local journeys.

The taxis are only allowed to drive on main avenues, and only within the local area, so it may be

necessary to take several taxis to reach a destination, which has also contributed to the extreme

congestion and air pollution within the city (Tehran Municipality, 2015).

Tehran Municipality developed a visionary strategic plan for transport ‘Tehran in 2025’ during a five

year period (2003–2008). This comprehensive plan is based on the wider ‘Tehran’s Comprehensive

Strategic Development Plan – 2025 Outlook’. Stimulated by a strong interest in rail at the national

level since around 1997, the plan for improving mass transit in Tehran was developed setting the

framework with suburban and metropolitan rail at its heart. However, as the plan evolved it became

clear that a strong bus network would be needed to complement this. The final plan catered to

provide for just over 19 million daily trips by mass transit (rail and bus services) aiming for a 42%

modal share by 2030.

A systematic approach for designing the public transport network was taken based on:

Bus and Railway being the primary, high capacity modes of the public transport network

(with both public and private sector involvement);

Vans and Taxis as the second level providing complementary services to the above (mainly

with the involvement of the private sector);

Priority would be given to public services in the design of the road network.

The metro system now carries nearly 2 million passengers a day, representing 12% of the total

number of trips made in Tehran. Metro development and operations are split into two publicly

owned companies, one for operations and one for capital investment.

The first BRT line was introduced into Tehran in 2007. The BRT system in Tehran adapted Bogota’s

Transmillenio to the city’s own needs in terms of design features, dedicated right of ways and pre

boarding payment. The study for adapting the design of the final BRT network was carried out by

Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran. An increase of 77% passengers per day was achieved

in the first year of operation. Passengers grew from 214,000 passengers to 380,000 daily in the


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period between May 2007 and May 2008. Two further lines were introduced in 2008. At the moment

there are 10 lines.

In 2010 an integrated electronic fare collection system was introduced on metro and bus services. It

is currently in use on all bus fleets directly under operation of the Municipality equipped with e-card

readers. However, the bus market is still fragmented with many small operators who have entered

the market in a haphazard fashion working independently from each other and thus offering

different quality standards, ticketing systems and marketing approaches. Although there is a joined

ticketing system of the Metro and BRT company, the Tehran Bus company engages private drivers

with their buses to fill up service gaps. These private buses are also not able to fulfil or guarantee the

same quality standards (Allen, 2013).

Informal transport is not as common in Tehran as in other Asian countries due to the high costs of

vehicles. This means that competition among various operators is not as intense as in other

countries and therefore prices remain high. However, as vehicles become more affordable, informal

transport is strengthened and becoming more competitive, covering the gaps in transport provision.

5.5.3.3. Non-Motorized Transport

The promotion of cycling as a green, safe and cost effective mode of transportation especially for

local access and short distance trips has been a major preoccupation of Tehran municipality since

2011. Based on the Tehran Transportation and Traffic Master Plan and demand analysis for cycling,

more than 368 kilometres of dedicated cycling routes have been put in place (Allen, 2013).

A new ambitious €40 million plan aims at fostering daily bike use and the final objective is to reach a

12% bicycle modal share by 2030.

Among the major initiatives taken are:

Safe access of students to schools, including safe zebra street crossings equipped with

buttons to change the lights and traffic signals in front of schools;

Improved accessibility of passengers to public transport services, for example the passenger

bridges are equipped with escalators and the terminal design with pedestrians in mind;

Renovation and restructuring the passages and pavements for normal pedestrians and

people with physical disability.

The construction of dedicated walkways, pedestrian areas and ‘No-Car’ passages especially

in major amusement and shopping centres including Tehran’s traditional ‘Bazaar’ (Allen,

2013).

Also, in 2009 also bike sharing with about 500 bikes was introduced in one of the districts of Tehran.

The major feature of cycling projects is the involvement of private sector investment for the bicycles,

the rental centres, and other facilities. The route and infrastructure is designed and established by

the Municipality (Allen, 2013).

5.5.4. Road Safety

The road safety situation in Iran is poor, with road crashes serving as the second highest cause of

death in the country. The high death tolls are blamed on excessive speed, unsafe vehicles,

widespread disregard of traffic laws and inadequate emergency services. However progressive

actions from road safety actors and the Road Traffic Police are slowly starting to make a difference

(Global Road Safety Partnership, 2014).


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Overall, 14.9% of all deaths with 26.9% of years of lost life were from injuries in Iran and deaths

from traffic injuries (30.0/100,000) are among the highest in the world. The overall incidence of

traffic accident was 17.3 per 1000 per year. Traffic accident rates in men and women were 22.6 and

11.8, respectively. The overall traffic accident mortality rate was 26.6 per 100,000 person years,

which was almost three times higher in men than that for women (40.4 compared to 12.1 per

100,000 person years). This ratio was higher for motorcycle and bicycle accidents. The highest%

among women was seen in the pedestrian involved accidents. These findings are consistent with the

findings of other studies from developing countries. This relates to the gender roles of males and

females and also with women's social limitations regarding riding motorcycles and bicycles. Men are

more likely to be involved in work outside homes and on the street than women in Iran. It is

estimated that only 12.5% of women were employed outside of their homes in Tehran. Lower

economic level was associated with increased incidence and mortality of traffic accidents (Sehat et

al, 2012).

It is noted that Iran does not participate in the UN’s decade of action for road safety.


During the 1990s strong political leadership from the Mayor of Tehran put a series of sustainable

transport studies and projects in motion which maintained their momentum even after change in

the local leadership. During that period, the city saw a thirty fold increase in its revenues, a fifteen

fold increase in green space and the start of construction of the city’s new metro system. In addition,

the local government introduced number of measures to reduce emissions from the transport sector

(ITDP, 2003).

At a regulatory level, the Iranian transport planning framework is strongly focusing physical

planning aspects. Every city with more than 500,000 inhabitants has to elaborate a transport

development masterplan. These masterplans have to be updated in five year intervals and are valid

on municipal territory only. Usually, every transport masterplan is the product of a (semi)private

consultant who has been assigned by the municipality to elaborate the plan. In the case of Tehran

these consultants were the Tehran Comprehensive Transportation and Traffic Studies Company

(TCTTS) and the Transport and Traffic Organization (TTO). The Supreme Council for Coordination of

Iranian Cities’ Traffic within the Ministry of Interior is responsible for the plan approval. After the

approval the plan is submitted to the municipality for implementation and the responsible

department within the municipality assigns companies or public transport service contractors to

implement the plan (Arndt and Döge, 2013).

Public Transport is mainly organized by the municipality in Tehran and the Traffic and Public

Transport Office reports directly to the Mayor. There is, however, a growing proportion of

operations and maintenance being outsourced to the private sector. As much as 40% of public

transport operations (excluding taxis) are run by the private sector (Allen, 2013).

5.5.6. Infrastructure financing

In recent years, and especially in order to improve the quality of service, accessibility and efficiency

of the public transport services, Tehran Municipality has taken important steps to attract private

sector partnership into operating public transport services in Tehran. This has been especially

applied to bus services. This partnership provides the system with newer vehicles provided by

private companies and a higher quality of services than might have been achieved in the same


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timeframe by public only operators. In 2006, there were only 724 privately operated buses

compared to some 6,676 public ones (Allen, 2013).

The high capacity, high speed BRT lines are mainly operated by the public sector while the regional

and local bus services increasingly by the private sector. In less than 3 years, the total share of

private sector in annual trips reached to more than forty% (Allen, 2013).

In addition, there are some 80,000 taxis in Tehran and over the past few years around half have

changed ownership to be privately owned. These are differentiated by colour; green for those owned

by private companies and yellow for those privately owned, by the driver (Allen, 2013).

5.5.7. Health

Since the late nineties, the extreme traffic congestion and the associated high levels of air pollution

have gradually become a major challenge from the city’s authorities. In Tehran, air quality becomes

worse at certain times of the year as the city is surrounded by mountains causing temperature

inversions and that trap the pollution over the city. During that period, motorized traffic is estimated

to be responsible for 80% of the air pollution. In addition, daily admissions due to stable angia were

significantly related to the CO levels. It was estimated that each unit increase in the CO level increase

the number of hospital admissions by one person. In 2003 the National Institute for Tuberculosis

and Lung Disease estimated that roughly 4,000 deaths per year could be attributed to Tehran’s

particulate matter alone (Arndt and Döge, 2013; Hosseinpoor et al, 2005).

The government passed the Clean Air Act in 1995 in order to address the problem of pollution in

Tehran and other large cities in the country. In addition, a 10 year air pollution mitigation

masterplan was developed and put into practice in 2000. The studies that led to the creation of the

masterplan were co funded by the national government, the United Nations Development

Programme and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The masterplan included

improvements in vehicle and fuel technology which were neglected due to the historically low

process of fuel, introduction of standards in production, circulation, and registration of vehicles,

discarding and replacing of vehicles, improving the quality of fuels and adoption of alternatives,

integration with public transport planning and traffic management, and training and promotion of

public awareness. The masterplan was at first implemented slowly as institutional, management,

regulatory, enforcement and financial problems delayed the effectiveness of the adopted measures.


Access inequality in Tehran results mainly from the lack of appropriate land use planning for low

income households. The urban poor have been neglected and marginalised in the urban

development planning system and also in planning for land and housing in the country. As a result,

informal settlements on the fringe of the urban area have mostly formed around the Tehran’s three

major transportation corridors. The rigidity of the urban planning system in Iran to adapt to fast

demographic shifts, due to land use restrictions within the city and rigid municipal boundaries, and

the investments in infrastructure that are not commensurate with needs, have resulted in the

spillover of low income urban groups into the periphery, the un-serviced areas, or the rundown

inner areas of the cities. Poor access opportunities have an even more adverse impact on the less

mobile groups such as the elderly, the youth and the disabled (Zebardast, 2006).

It is noted that many low income households in Tehran do own cars which are old and poorly

maintained and not only do they serve as their only means of transport but also as a secondary


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source of income offering unlicensed taxi services. This makes the situation even more complicated

for the local authorities who need provide further incentives to low income families to replace or

properly maintain their vehicles (Madanipour, 2006).

On the other hand, in terms of gender equality, planning authorities have been making efforts to

promote the role of women in transport service provision. A gender balance was maintained in

recruiting BRT bus drivers which helped promote equal opportunities and at the same time proved

that women drivers drive more responsibly and comply with road safety rules better than men in

many cases (Allen, 2013).


The available data on street and public space accessibility in Tehran is very limited. It is suggested

that the overall increase in the accessibility and the improvements in public transport services

overall improve the human dimension of the city. In addition, a study assessing the access

opportunities to public spaces in various areas of Tehran showed that accessibility is variously

distributed, but surprisingly, higher for low income groups. It can be argued that poor households

usually use the nearest facilities to avoid transport costs, while high income groups prefer to travel

farther distances to stay away from crowded parks, schools and other public spaces. This also

reflects the cultural need for access to public spaces and interaction which may be more elevated

among low income groups (Lofti and Koohsari, 2009).

5.5.10. SWOT analysis

Strengths Strong commitment to sustainability

Growing, comprehensive public transport

network

Political commitment to pursue existing

plans

Engagement of the private sector funding

in operations

Existing vision and elaborate plans for

the city

High cost of car ownership

Weaknesses Lack of complete integration of private bus

operators

Remaining air quality problems

Remaining congestion

Existing car oriented infrastructure and

previous lack of integration between

transport and land use planning

Imbalanced public transport supply and

demand

Opportunities Changing perceptions of the public

regarding public transport

International recognition of efforts

Political stability

Threats External influence of oil economy

Limited financial sources

Institutional lock in and refuse to change

Cultural association of car with wealth

Tehran has made an extraordinary shift to sustainable urban transport in less than ten years. The

strong political commitment of the municipal authorities to change the city and the development of a

vision for 2025 are the biggest strength of the transport sector in the city at the moment. In addition,

the expansion of public transport infrastructure across the city provides an excellent basis for

promoting sustainable transport. In addition, the high costs of private vehicles, the relatively low

modal share of private cars and the existing culture of ridesharing provide a basis for changing the

role of the car in Tehran. The combination of political commitment, vision and good public transport

provide a framework upon which future plans, investments and further engagement of the public


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can be built. As the sustainable transport is gaining momentum in the city, its social, environmental

and economic benefits are becoming plausible and therefore it becomes more difficult for these

efforts to fail.

At the same time, the political stability of the country and the international recognition of Tehran’s

efforts are an opportunity for supporting growth and success. On the one hand, Tehran remains one

of Iran’s primary engines of economic growth and international outreach. As the city becomes more

sustainable it is more likely to receive better funding from the national government due to the

increased returns of such an investment. In addition, international recognition can also bring

additional support and potentially benefits from sharing its experience and becoming a pioneer in

sustainable transport in the Middle East region.

However, although it seems that Tehran is on the right path, there are still some obstacles to

overcome. Residues from previous policies and unsustainable transport planning are the biggest

weakness of the city. The lack of integration between land use and transport and the extensive car

oriented infrastructure dominate the urban fabric and sustain private transport mobility. In addition

they contribute to persisting poor air quality (along with the landscape formation of the surrounding

area) and congestion. At the same time, public transport is expected not meet the current demand

levels, at least until the full plans for the city are complete. In order to face these challenges the city

will need to focus on management measures until the long term impacts of adding or removing

infrastructure in the city arrive.

Finally, the Tehran is facing some external threats which may affect the effectiveness of the adopted

plans or the ability of local authorities to adopt them. To begin with, Iran’s economy is largely oil

based. This means that it is affected by international trends of which it has little control. This means

that the available budget for transport can also be affected by global market conditions. At the same

time, the national funding for transport does not meet the needs for the city. Municipal revenues and

contractual agreements with the private sector have a significantly lower contribution to capital

investments which means that the implementation of plans can be delayed or cancelled due to

limited funding. Finally, cultural and institutional refuse to change to sustainable transport, either

due to existing market forces and interests or due to the association of private mobility to wealth, is

posing a significant threat to the success of sustainable transport operations. In order to limit its

risks, the city can work on reducing its dependency to the national government and increase public

engagement with its efforts.


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6. Conclusions and Recommendations

6.1. Introduction

Based on the literature review, the 3 case studies and the SWOT analysis of the 5 megacities, this

chapter starts with a summary of the key findings of the report. In addition, this chapter provides

recommendations and identifies prioritized possible policy options to implement these

recommendations using the framework developed in the literature review chapter. The

recommendations build upon the analysis of the previous chapters and aim to provide a concrete

basis for understanding the urban transport challenges for the OIC megacities. Although it is not

suggested that problems or solutions are the same across all megacities, the recommendations

section is an effort to consolidate the results of the analysis and provide some specific suggestions

about the future steps to be taken, based on our research, observations, and best practice examples

from the developed and developing world. When it is considered appropriate, special

recommendations will be given for the Middle East, Africa and Asia groups, based on our experience,

the site visits, and the literature review.

6.2. The Case of Islamic Megacities

The rapid population growth and urbanization of megacities is one of the most urgent current global

issues. The Islamic megacities have an important role to play in global sustainability as 7 of the

world’s 28 megacities belong to the Islamic World. The fact that they also belong to developing

countries, means that they have the potential to develop further and many opportunities to do so

sustainably. The size of these cities means that problems as well as improvements have a large scale

effect, and it constitutes a challenge and an opportunity at the same time. Transport related issues

are particularly interesting as they affect all social, economic and environmental functions of the city

and therefore require coordinated action from both public and private stakeholders. This report has

provided a thorough analysis of transport and transport related problems of the Islamic megacities,

drawing from our experience, research and best practice examples from across the world.

All the megacities of the Islamic world belong to a developing country which means that they share

some common characteristics in terms of institutional structures, motorization trends, financing

problems and infrastructure availability and quality. In this report, best practice and lessons were

collected from both developed and developing world megacities and cities but inevitably the

majority of examples come from the developed world. This is due to the fact that developed world,

particularly European, cities have already gone through rapid urbanization and motorization and

have now turned to more sustainable modes than private cars, faced with the impacts of congestion.

On the other hand, developed world megacities have only relatively recently started to rapidly grow

economically and increase their motorization levels. African megacities are still lagging behind the

other megacities of the Islamic world in terms of economic growth as well as infrastructure and

motorization, while Asian megacities are growing rapidly in population and number of private cars.

In both cases, the share of non-motorized transport remains very high as motorized modes are

mainly used by the wealthiest members of the society. Perhaps the most important difference

between Arab cities and megacities compared to the rest of OIC world is the fact that non-motorized

transport has been widely ignored and has significantly lower modal share levels due to the wide

availability of oil and its low prices. In Arab cities and megacities, infrastructure and planning for

NMT is limited and has only recently started to gather support as a factor contributing to urban

sustainability.


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It is suggested that planning for the transport problems in the Islamic megacities requires

coordinated actions at a local and national level and, targeted, well planned international support to

accelerate development. There is a very important opportunity not to follow the development

patterns of developed or even developing world megacities, and become best practice examples

themselves. It should be noted that despite the fact that the recommendations given below are

structured in separate sections, coordinated, integrated and multi-sector planning are considered

the most important element in successful planning. At the same time, key actions aiming at meeting

demand, improving the urban quality of life and ensuring economic profitability can make a

significant contribution to wider transport strategies. It is suggested that specifically in the case of

Islamic megacities, the focus of such actions should be on curbing car use and motorization levels,

coordinating land use with transport planning and operations, and maintaining the social cohesion

and identity. In the longer term, it should be kept in mind that cities, regardless of their current size,

they will continue to be places of enormous attractiveness for people and so their every aspect

should be planned for people first.

The megacities of the Islamic world have both differences and similarities in terms of the scale and

urgency of their problems as well as their development patterns. This means that different, adapted

policies are necessary in order to address the challenges and use the opportunities of each city.

However, some best practices and lessons can be drawn from the previous sections to be used as

common guide for building a sustainable urban transport strategy. As it has been pointed out earlier,

all best practices and lessons from other cities show that understanding the dynamics of a city, and

most importantly of a megacity, is key to providing integrated planning. Best practice examples from

elsewhere should be examined thoroughly and adapted to the local conditions and when this is

necessary accompanied by supporting measures for this purpose. For example, BRT systems are

introduced in many cities of the developed world and are expected be as successful as that of

Curitiba. However in many cases systems and stations are not properly planned, leading to

disruptions in community cohesion, low response to the demand and lack of integration with other

transport modes.

Trying to unravel the complexities of the interrelationships between travel, urban form and

sustainable development is difficult. It is therefore necessary to have a vision of the city in its desired

form. A clear vision is more likely to gather political and public support than fragmented

interventions and it is easier to communicate and follow than uncoordinated sectorial strategies

with different aspirations. Transport provides an essential contribution to city viability (economic

sustainability), vitality (inclusiveness and fairness) and health (quality of life and environmental

quality) which are all elements of a sustainable city vision. With a vision as a starting point it is then

easier to prioritise and coordinate the necessary actions to build an urban transport strategy. Some

of the OIC megacities have already developed long term urban visions taking into account transport

as well as transport visions. The most prominent example is probably Istanbul which has developed

a transport vision to 2023, aiming to create a metro network with a length of 641 km by the year

2023 as a key step to create liveable and sustainable city in the 21st century (Banister, 2011).

Although most success stories come from the developed world, equally valuable lessons can be

learned from developing world cities and megacities that have implemented successful policies and

strategies. Examples of such cities are Curitiba in Brazil, Bogota in Colombia as well as Islamic

megacities such as Istanbul. However, in every case attention should be paid in the transferability of

solutions from one city to another. Particularly in the case of Islamic megacities, transferability

issues can be related to cultural conventions as well as local identity issues. It is therefore suggested


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that all conclusions and recommendations are used taking into account the wider context of each

city, which has also been analysed in the SWOT analyses in previous sections. In the sections that

follow, the main conclusions from the literature review and the site visits are presented using the

framework developed for this report along with recommendations made using the same framework.


Higher level interactions of transport with land use planning should be understood and coordinated

in order to achieve sustainable urban development. Transport Oriented Development and public

transport accessibility of new housing and residential developments are necessary in order to halt

the excessive use of private cars. Planning for access by alternative modes allows then the adoption

of a series of other supporting measures such as maximum parking space standards for new

developments while it facilitates vehicle access restrictions to central areas. At this point, the

coordination with land use and urban planning authorities is extremely important as it contributes

to building an integrated planning framework for new developments which can be a very good

starting point for a paradigm shift.

However, infrastructure projects should also be planned and built taking into account the local

environment. For example, the common practice to build more bypasses and flyovers to alleviate the

congestion in central areas should be abandoned as it has been proven ineffective. Key

infrastructure projects that do not disrupt the urban environment should be built in an integrated

traffic management system so as to avoid induced traffic and should be maintained appropriately in

order to deliver their value. It should be noted that another common misconception is that the

megacities’ problems can only be resolved by megaproject, which has also been proven unsuccessful.

Big infrastructure projects, particularly highways and bridges are known for disrupting the cohesion

and social continuity of the urban environment and contribute to its environmental degradation.


However, influencing existing transport and urban development patterns is more challenging and

requires further investigation of the potential synergies between different policies and measures.

Curbing motorization is possibly the most challenging task for transport planners in megacities and

therefore requires the utilization of a combination of tools, measures and policies. It is considered

that the most important synergy in this case is the combination of private vehicle purchase and

circulation restrictions and public and non-motorized transport improvements. Banning or

restricting private vehicles from central areas without providing a better alternative is unlikely to be

successful. Gradual but consistent restrictions and improvements are more likely to encourage the

population to make more sustainable mobility options. However, measures should be selected

carefully in order to match the local conditions in a city. For example, park and ride facilities

combined with dedicated free buses going to city centres have been proven successful in many cities

in the developed world but they may not be a particularly good measure for cities in the developed

world where land is expensive and housing needs are urgent.

In the case of Islamic megacities particular attention should be paid in order to provide balanced,

solutions for all modes, especially to those that have received little attention in the past. In most

cases this is NMT which has been widely ignored in favour of motorized modes over the past two

decades. Curbing the use of private cars is essential in order to promote NMT and coordinated

actions are needed in order to achieve the desirable results in both cases. The complementarily


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between the introduced measures and strategies should be examined as a whole but not in isolation

of the existing conditions.

The organic patterns of development particularly in the cores of Islamic megacities can be more than

a challenge. The dense street networks and the mixed uses favour movements by NMT which means

that there is already a viable mobility alternative to private car. In addition, the formal public

transport operations have the potential to be complemented by the existing informal operations, by

allowing them to act without or under loose regulations in order to maintain their current functions

of providing accessibility in informal areas, covering the need of in new housing areas and offering

employment to new citizens. Finally, the existing modal mix on streets and the multiple trade

activities can be preserved by introducing traffic calming regulations and therefore improve the

existing conditions without disrupting the current social activity taking place on the streets.

Embracing local conditions can in many cases be more efficient and effective than completely

altering them to achieve western standards.


Sustainable urban transport requires institutional and organizational coordination in order to

ensure that appropriate rights and authority are given to both bottom up and top down planning. On

the one hand, a clearly defined institutional framework should support the consolidation of

responsibilities and coordination of activities of all stakeholders. Examples of central transport

authorities in megacities of the developed world such as the DOT in New York or TfL in London,

prove that under a single entity, it is easier and efficient to define the shared responsibilities of

different actors and coordinate their collaboration, whether these actors are public or private. At the

same time, it is for utmost importance to allow space in the planning procedures for bottom up

input. Particularly in the urban areas where social activity and human interaction and mobility are

inevitably intense, it is the citizens that recognize the problems and needs of the city the most,

particularly when it comes to transport. It has been proven that public participation, advocacy and

awareness raising on issues such as road safety, public space planning and active travel can provide

valuable inputs and solutions to urban problems. In addition, public participation provides the

necessary space for ‘incompleteness’ in an urban environment which means that allows the rapidly

changing dynamics and needs of people living in a city to be expressed rather than suppressed

through stringent planning frameworks.

The coordination between different urban planning institutions is also equally important. Transport

interacts with land use planning, security, enforcement, education, trade, real estate, health and

many other sectors which have their own agendas and therefore it is necessary to define the

boundaries and overlapping responsibilities of different authorities. Conflicts between different

sectors are common both in developed and developing countries but they tend to be more difficult to

resolve in developing environments. The lack of regulations and cooperation between the private

and the public sector seems to be the most important obstacle in achieving the full implementation

of transport policies. Conflicts can take different forms, from fully unregulated public transport

operations to land ownership disagreements, which do not allow public infrastructure to proceed. In

such cases, urban authorities and national regulations need to be changed appropriately in order to

prioritize public to private operations, despite the contradicting benefits of the private sector. This

does not mean that the private sector should be restricted horizontally, but only that the public

interest should be clearly defined and put ahead as this is the only way to promote long term

sustainability and welfare in urban environments.


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Imposing restrictions to private cars while supporting public and non-motorized transport can have

multiple benefits, including pollution reduction, healthier urban environment and reduced GHG

emissions. However, the megacities of the Islamic world also lack significant infrastructure which

will facilitate their urban freight transport. In terms of logistics operations in particular, most cities

lack the appropriate infrastructure (consolidation points, loading and unloading areas etc.), as well

as management skills to respond to the increasing trade and consumption needs.

It is noted however that freight is probably the area with the lowest level of transferability between

developed and developing countries. Freight consolidation and planning is favoured in the

developed world due to the fact that the retail sector is operating based on consistent supply and

demand system. On the other hand, informal and small shops do not always need to store a large

amount of stock and do not always sell a consistent range of products. This means that practices

such as consolidation and efficient last mile deliveries cannot be applied in developing world cities.

Similar restrictions apply for night time deliveries and online shopping deliveries as owners are

unlikely to be willing to keep their stores open at night and online shipping is not very popular

respectively. It is therefore suggested that consultation and research needs to be conducted on a

local basis in order to identify the needs of retailers and suggest specific solutions to alleviate freight

traffic. Loading and unloading facilities are considered essential in any case as the lack of them

always obstructs traffic flows.

On the other hand, large scale logistics are essential to be planned for developing world megacities.

All the cities examined in this report are regional and national freight hubs, playing a crucial role in

local and national economies. Most cities are major regional ports and airports (with only exception

being Tehran, which is only a main airport and Cairo which is on waterway). Efficient freight

operations are necessary not only for the national and international economies but also for the

urban economies. Efficient operations cause significantly less disruption to the urban environment

and facilitate national and international trade. Dakar, for example, is the only port that offers access

to Mali, a landlocked country, via its rail and highway link to Bamako. Relationships with Bamako

have a significant impact of Dakar’s and Senegal’s economies and therefore efficient operations

should be prioritized. Large scale schemes linking megacities to other cities, although urban per se,

should be put forward and be exploited in the most efficient ways, often involving the private sector.


Financing is an issue for all OIC megacities. It is suggested that a combined approach should be

adopted for financing involving both internal management of operations and external financial

support strengthening. On one hand, internal financing should be structured in a way that savings

and revenues from transport operations and charges are absorbed and reinvested in future

transport plans. For example, mechanisms and organizational structures should be put in place and

be created in order for revenues from parking charges or road pricing are reinvested in sustainable

modes. The involvement of the private sector in operations should ensure that operations are

profitable for both sides, with the public sector being able to re-evaluate the operation contracts and

partnerships often in order to avoid loss of revenues resulting from the involvement of the public

sector. An innovative example of cooperation with the public comes from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,

where a major part of the city’s port region is currently being redeveloped without any contribution

from the city’s funds. The area that is known as Porto Maravilha was isolated and degraded but

forma a vital part of the port and had a large historic value. The funds for the redevelopment were


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collected by selling the rights for increased construction capacity in the area. By selling the rights for

additional development, the urban consortium has the necessary resources to redevelop the public

infrastructure in the area, improve the public realm (including major changes in the mobility

patterns of the area) and preserve the architectural and cultural value of the port.

On the other hand, external help can ensure that appropriate guidance is given to governments in

order to efficiently manage their construction and operation projects. It is suggested that assistance

on management should also be sought along with financial support in order to perform effective

monitoring and evaluation of projects. Transparency should also be ensured in order to effectively

and efficiently deliver high standard projects. External support and monitoring are often viable for

projects to succeed as they prevent issues of corruption and deviation from the deliverable

standards.

6.2.6. Road safety

Road safety is a crucial issue for the Islamic megacities as many of them are suffering from high

mortality rates on the streets and traffic related injuries. Awareness raising and driver training are

essential for perceptions to change and for people to realize the importance of safe driving.

Campaigns organized at the workplace and at schools can be proven particularly successful as they

target people who can directly apply what they have learned on specific journeys. In addition, media

coverage is also very important, particularly on the radio and the television, as the internet is not

always accessible by everyone. Local advocacy groups can make a significant contribution, and can

often be more effective than actions taken by the authorities. However, establishing road design

standards, strengthening enforcement and putting in place formal driver training and testing

procedures are of utmost importance.

6.2.7. Health

Pollution, excessive heat and lack of physical activity are the three main transport related factors

that contribute to the deterioration of health of the residents of Islamic megacities. Pollution levels

in the cities of Asia in particular have been and in some cases remain among the highest in the world.

Old vehicles are the primary source of pollution, and therefore banning their use and import is

considered key in order for the air quality to improve. In addition, promoting clean public transport

and non-motorized transport can contribute to this effort. Exhaust gases also contribute the increase

of temperature in megacities. Fewer vehicles and more open green and light coloured spaces can

make a significant difference in the temperatures of urban areas. Finally, in terms of physical activity

it is considered very important that transport facilitates multimodality and integration of active

modes (walking and cycling) in the majority of trips.


The means to achieve sustainable transport and liveable cities are the same that can be used to

reduce the impact of megacities on climate change. Developing world megacities are contributing to

climate change less than their developed counterparts and if they follow a sustainable path, they will

manage to keep their impact at low levels. However, in the case of Islamic megacities, the issue of

vulnerability is very important. Reinforcing the transport infrastructure, planning for floods and

protecting key infrastructure from the effects of floods and droughts should be consistently

prioritized in the megacities of the Islamic world.


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Transport related social exclusion is widely observed in OIC megacities. Despite the efforts made to

address issues of exclusion for women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities, inefficient

transport operations inevitably have a greater impact on the mobility of these groups. Although

these groups are not necessarily less mobile (for example women perform more complicated

everyday tasks than men including housekeeping, taking children to school and shopping), they are

disadvantaged in the sense that they either do not own a car or their moves are physically restricted.

Exclusion can be tackled both with infrastructure and policy interventions. To begin with, accessible

infrastructure needs to be put in place wherever possible. Basic services that need to be accessible

are buses and other public transport vehicles as well as bus, BRT and metro stations. In addition,

well maintained and curbed footways are essential for people with disabilities as well as the elderly

and children to move conveniently and take seamless walking journeys. At the same time, planning

to prevent social exclusion is essential. There is a great scope for informal public transport services

to be used for people with limited mobility means. Informal services can be organized as dial-a-ride

services or offer rides to specific groups of people (for example mothers with their children) during

specific times of the day in order to increase their accessibility. In addition, planning for the mobility

of the elderly is equally important, particularly in the Islamic culture where their role and

contribution to the family is highly valued. Dial-a-ride services can also be of use for the elderly as

well as accessible stations and buses. Finally, concession schemes for the less well-off can make a

significant difference to the accessibility of people living in informal and distant areas and still need

to access the central business areas by public transport.


The importance of maintaining the human dimension even in such scale of cities has been stressed

throughout this report and is considered to be one of the most important lessons Islamic megacities

can learn from other cities across the world. Maintaining the human dimension can significantly

improve urban life, from the everyday level to the participation of citizens in planning for their own

spaces. The Islamic megacities have the advantage of strong social and cultural values which can be

used as a base for bringing people and the city closer to each other. The role of transport in this

effort lies in small scale planning, street level interventions and lower, more human speeds. It is

considered of utmost importance that participation is promoted and supported as citizens know

their cities and how their needs change as well as the most experienced planners.


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6.2.11. Summary

Table 13 below provides a summary of the recommendations:

Table 13: Summary of key recommendations

Framework area Key actions

Transport network and land use planning

Make sure transport infrastructure does not cause fragmentation of the urban environment Plan for land use and transport integration Promote multiple centre and multiple land use development Support TOD

Mode availability and shares Promote NMT Promote public transport Reduce motorization and car use using fiscal measures

Institutional and organizational structure

Promote central management and planning of operations Clearly define the role of the private sector

Freight and servicing Examine particular local needs Enhance international freight links

Urban infrastructure financing

Seek help with monitoring and evaluation Ensure transparency Clearly define the role of the private sector

Road safety Provide appropriate training and testing for drivers Raise awareness

Health Ban circulation and import of old vehicles Plan for active transport Use lighter colours in infrastructure

Climate change Plan for resilience

Social exclusion Plan for accessible infrastructure Introduce flexible transport services for the elderly, women, the urban poor and people with disabilities

Human dimension Support participation Plan for small scale

Figure 40 below provides an overview of the interrelationships among transport related areas.


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Figure 40: The interrelationships among transport related areas

Source: Consultant

Based on the above, it is clear that strengthening institutional and organizational structure is the

first thing that needs to be done in order to realise a sustainable urban transport system.

Appropriate institutional arrangements are of importance for effective law enforcement strategies.

The SWOT analyses show that weak law enforcement is a common weakness among the megacities.

In terms of mode availability and share framework area, strengthening law enforcement will ensure

the effectiveness of fiscal measures to reduce motorization and car use, which in the end benefits the

efforts to promote more sustainable transport modes, i.e. public transport and NMT. Strong low

enforcement is also very important to increase road safety, as this area is very sensitive for

corruption and bribery.

Strengthening institutional and organizational structure can also be defined as organizational

capacity building that is required to increase organizational capabilities and overall institutional

capabilities. This is certainly the case for urban infrastructure financing and freight and servicing.

Policy makers are expected to be able to develop creative solutions to finance urban infrastructure

and to mastering the available schemes such as PPP. Freight and servicing area on the other hand is

very challenging as there are no common solutions for freight and servicing issues. As such, capacity

building is important to improve the competence of the responsible institutions to develop specific

solutions to address freight transport challenges.


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Furthermore, mindset change at the institutional level is necessary to develop a sustainable

transport system that addresses climate change and social issues. Finally, a robust institutional and

organizational structure is essential to ensure a smooth integration between transport network and

land use planning. In this sense, a coordinating role, which is ideally under the responsibility of a

Transport Authority, is of importance.

The second priority is an integrated transport network and land use planning, as it influences other

sectors such as freight and servicing, and climate change. A robust integration between transport

network and land use planning can also tackle social exclusion issues by implementing the principle

of universal accessibility, a very important aspect when considering special needs of the elderly,

women, and the poor and disabled people. Including human dimension in every aspect of transport

and land use planning is also not less important since the end purpose of transport system is to

serve transport users, as such embracing their participation in the planning process will ensure the

effectiveness of the measures.

In short, institutional and organizational structure, and transport network and land use planning are

the most important areas that need to be strengthened due to their strong influence on other areas.

A strong institutional and organizational structure, and a robust transport network and land use

planning are two areas that are very mature and advanced in developed countries in comparison to

their developing counterparts. Therefore, improvements in these two areas are recommended to be

prioritized by Islamic megacities in order to realize their vision of sustainable urban transport.


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Appendix 1

Transport Oriented Development and Public Transport Planning in Hong Kong

and Singapore: Lessons on integration, regulation and car ownership restriction

Hong Kong and Singapore are very successful and long standing examples of integrated, public

transport oriented urban transport policies. Hong Kong and Singapore have followed distinctively

different transport policies than other Asian cities under the pressure of urbanisation, economic

development and resource constraints. Many lessons can be learned from both cities as they have

excellent examples of using synergies between different policies to provide high levels of

accessibility for all.

The cities

Although Hong Kong and Singapore have the status of a country and not a city, they are both almost

100% urbanized and therefore considered here as cities. They are both densely populated as only a

relatively small portion of their land is suitable for development. Singapore has a land area of 710.2

square kilometres and 4.8 million inhabitants, while Hong Kong’s land area is 1104 square

kilometres and its population is 6.9 million. In order to accommodate their growing populations’

needs, they have been expanding their usable land by land reclamation over the past century so that

they can accommodate the demand for new development. The high population densities and the role

of both cities are global business hubs generate huge transport demand which is managed with

innovative and strictly implemented long term transport and land use strategies.

Singapore: Sustainable, safe and smart transport policies

Singapore has adopted and implemented sustainable transport strategies since the 1970s in order to

mitigate rising congestion levels generated by very nearly full employment coupled with a rapidly

growing economy as a manufacturing and financial hub. Sustainability, safety and smartness are

three important policy directions of the urban mobility system of Singapore. Sustainability is

achieved through the integration of land use and transport planning, transport supply measures and

incorporation of environmentally friendly technologies for vehicles. Safety measures are covering all

modes and enforcement and smart transport systems are used for traffic control, monitoring and

enforcement, information management and revenue management (Lam and Toan, 2006; Haque et al,

2013).

Probably the two key policies that contribute the most to the successful performance of Singapore’s

transport system are the integration of transport and land use planning and the control of the

growth of motorization. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has been central to the transport

strategies of Singapore since the 1970s. Residential, commercial and economic activities were

gradually decentralized in order to create regional and sub-regional centres around Mass Rapid

Transit (MRT) stations. Locating employment centres, business parks and commercial centres near

residential areas reduce people’s need to travel while resulting in a good utilization of the MRT

network. As a result, more than 60% of the Singaporeans use the MRT for commuting and other

purposes daily. For better integration, the role of each transport mode is clearly defined, with MRT

serving long distance trips and Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and buses providing feeder services to the

MRT system. At the same time, continuous improvement of the supply of each mode but also the

complementarily between different modes (coordination of service network, stations, fares and


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information systems) ensure that accessibility is provided for all and journeys on public transport

are seamless and convenient (Lam and Toan, 2006; Haque et al, 2013).

In order to maintain a sustainable growth rate of its vehicle population, Singapore has adopted a

Vehicle Quota System (VQS) policy since 1990. The VQS works by determining a suitable number of

new vehicles allowed for registration annually and subsequently let- ting market forces determine

the price of ownership via bidding. Using the VQS, the vehicle growth rate has been kept in tandem

with the rate of road development. The rate of road development from 1990 to 2006 was about 1.0%

p.a. but it is projected to be only 0.5% p.a. over the next 15 years. In addition to purchase based

constraints, road pricing was adopted in 1975 as a usage based tax system mainly to reduce

congestion by discouraging travel on expressways and major arterials towards the Central Business

District (CBD) during peak hours (Lam and Toan, 2006; Haque et al, 2013).

One of the main lessons learned from Singapore is that fiscal measures of restraining car ownership

are effective only up to a certain point. Under conditions of rapidly rising incomes, car ownership

increases quickly despite high prices. This is because demand for cars is more income elastic than

price elastic. In the end, the growth of car population can only be arrested by more radical measures

such as the VQS. Singapore adopted the VQS which was implemented as a supporting measure to

control motorization more effectively after two decades of road pricing (Barter, 2004; Olszewski,

2007).

Hong Kong: transport, land use and intense market competition

Hong Kong has been growing rapidly in population and population density in the past four decades

due to migration and its relatively small portion of usable land for development. Since the 1970s

nine new towns were developed to cope with the population growth were developed and 43km2 of

land were reclaimed to cope with population growth. Hong Kong has experienced. Transport

systems and other supporting infrastructure were developed to link the new cities with the

traditional urban core areas and big part of the development was built along major transportation

arteries (Tang and Lo, 2008; Loo and Chow, 2006).

Similar to Singapore, Hong Kong has adopted a coordinated and integrated transport and land use

planning approach combined with policies of limiting private car ownership and usage. The land

development strategies have been a catalyst for the high population density sustaining over the

years. On the one hand, the controlled supply has put the prices of land and property on the fast

rising track. As a result, the average income from land premium has contributed to over three

quarters of funds for capital works in the territory. On the other hand, the high density residential

estates built around railway stations have further formed a large pool of potential passengers to

support the operation of mass transit railways and the payback for the investment. At the same time,

the limited space and high population density of the territory have shaped the transport policy of

giving priority to mass carriers especially off street modes that do not occupy road space, and

controlling the growth of private cars. New private cars in Hong Kong are subject to the first

registration tax from 35% to 100% of the vehicle cost. In addition to ownership control, car usage

has also been discouraged through high fuel tax. The limited number of parking spaces and hence

the high garage cost and parking charge especially in urban areas further discouraged owning and

using a car in Hong Kong (Tang and Lo, 2008).

However, the major lessons to be learnt from Hong Kong are related to service regulation and

prioritization. Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) was constructed in the 1970s to provide an


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off street, efficient means of travel through the urban areas. The Kowloon Canton Railway (KCR) was

also electrified in 1982 to provide transit services for the suburban New Territories and to support

the development of new towns. Both railways were corporatized to operate in prudent commercial

principles in accordance with their respective ordinances, although they were wholly owned by the

government. In October 2000, MTR was privatized and since then her shares have been traded on

the stock exchange of Hong Kong (Tang and Lo, 2008).

The transport policy adopted in the 1980s focused on an integrated public transport system defined

the non-rail modes as the feeding role and prevented direct competition in order to secure the

return of public investments on the railways and minimize wasteful duplication of resources.

Franchised bus services were also protected against other lower priority public transport modes.

For example, at most only half of non-franchised (residential) bus routes could run parallel to

existing franchised bus routes. This policy assured that the traffic demand for the mass transit

railways would not be diluted by other modes of transport, and hence the huge investment on such

projects would be paid back within a reasonable return period. During the 1990s, the government of

Hong Kong also relaxed the regulations on bus services with an aim to improve the quality of public

transport services through competition. In 1991, Hong Kong started open tendering for new

franchised bus routes (Tang and Lo, 2008).

However, by the 2000s Hong Kong’s planning authorities were under the political pressure for the

freedom of choice between modes and faced strong opposition to plans of consolidating bus services

in coordination with the commissioning of new railway lines. New towns were first serviced by bus

services until they grew enough to justify the introduction of a rail service. However, these towns

were sufficiently accommodated by bus services before the respective rail links were built. Upon

completion of the railways, the development of the new towns had become basically flattened and

the traffic demand (both existing and derived) was not sufficient to fill up the increased supply of

transport services from the new railways in addition to the existing bus services. Besides, the

residents had been accustomed to the door-to-door bus services and transport providers were not

given incentives to give up profitable routes (Tang and Lo, 2008).

The public transport market as a result of the indiscriminate expansion of both rail and bus services

lost its equilibrium as per the well-coordinated transport system established in the 1980s. The

oversupply of public transport services as a whole can be reflected by the lower than anticipated

patronage level of the new railway lines recently commissioned to serve the new towns. In addition,

service competition and overwhelming increase in bus services has resulted in the negative

externalities of not only road congestion, but also the increased demand for more roadway capacity

expansion. The lesson to be learned in this case is that such a problem cannot be resolved purely

through market processes, but there is a need for administrative measures to make the public

transport market more coordinated so as to alleviate the negative externalities caused by service

oversupply and wasteful competition (Tang and Lo, 2008).

Comparison with other cities: Tokyo

Tokyo is the world’s biggest megacity. Except for its size, what makes Tokyo different is that is has

been one of the world’s biggest metropolitan areas since the early 1700s. Railway construction was

one of the national modernization policies that started in the 1860s, and the national railway

network connecting central Tokyo and other cities in Japan was established by the end of the

nineteenth century. Beginning in the 1920s, private railway companies purchased huge areas of land

in the suburbs of Tokyo and developed housing estates or garden suburbs. Private railway


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companies were able to pay for the railway constructions by the profits they made from selling or

leasing the developed housing estates and commercial areas around the stations. On the other hand

in central Tokyo, the subway network has been developed continuously since 1927. As a result,

nearly 73% of morning commuters to Tokyo used railway lines while only 9% of them used private

automobiles in 1998. Not only the railway system is well equipped, but also the season ticket

discount for commuter was introduced since before the war, employers usually pay commuting cost

to employees, major companies often inhibit employees to commute by a private car because of

limitation of parking place and reparations risk for car accidents caused by employees, and traffic

congestion in commuting time in Tokyo is so terrible that makes commuting to central Tokyo from

suburb impossible in fact (Okata and Murayama, 2011).

However, for the past two decades the population of Tokyo is growing very slowly and it expected to

remain almost stable in the coming decades. With the decrease of working population, it may

become more difficult to maintain today’s sophisticated railway system and a monocentric spatial

structure. In addition, suburbs without sufficient public transit services have already become

automobile oriented. On the other hand, population decline is observed in the outer suburbs and

people are coming back to the selected areas of Tokyo including central Tokyo. At the same time,

although Tokyo left the phase of rapid growth, transportation infrastructures, both roads and

railways, are continuously developed. Nonetheless, despite the continuous expansion of transport

networks, road infrastructure around many of the suburban stations is not well provided, resulting

in narrow sidewalks unfriendly to baby strollers and wheelchairs, and small rotaries difficult to

access by buses, taxis and private automobiles. In addition, lack of reasonable bicycle parking

facilities often leads to illegal bicycle parking on narrow sidewalks. While the governments try to

promote functional TOD with large scale redevelopment and modern infrastructure, many people

including local people and urban professionals emphasize the importance of vernacular urban form

and pedestrian oriented environment (Okata and Murayama, 2011).


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Appendix 2

Public Transport, Land Use Planning and Social Innovation

The case of Curitiba, Brazil

Curitiba is an important reference for public transportation and urban regeneration in Latin

America. The city has gained international recognition for its technically and managerially

innovative bus-based public transport system and the radical improvements in urban life.

The city

Curitiba is the capital of the Parana state in the south of Brazil with a population of 1.7 million and a

total of more than 3 million including the metropolitan area. In the 1960s, the city adopted a Master

plan according to which the city growth should be organized along linear axes concentrating high

population density and mass public transport. Over the years, two of the four main transit axes of the

urban area, presented the highest concentration and diversity of services, commerce, and public

facilities, all distinctive characteristics of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) (Duarte and

Ultramari, 2012).

Public transport

The first BRT line in Curitiba was launched in 1974, when the city had 609,000 inhabitants. The

main characteristics of Curitiba’s BRT include bus platforms at the same level as the floor of the bus,

speedy boarding and alighting, prepaid integrated fares, automated fare collection, greater spacing

between bus stops (from up to 500m to 3km) and integration of trunk and feeder lines in main

stations (Duarte and Rojas, 2012).

The BRT network extends over 72 kilometres and runs along what are known as the North-South,

East-West and Boqueirao corridors. The current fleet consists of 1,915 buses, 60 of which run on bio

fuels and 185 run in segregated corridors (Duarte and Rojas, 2012).

Each axis is designed as a “trinary” road system. The central road has two exclusive bus lanes in the

centre for express buses, and two local roads. One block away of each side of the local road there are

high capacity free-flowing one way roads for traffic heading into and out of the city (Rabinovitch,

1992).

All public transportation in Curitiba is part of the RIT (Integrated Transport Network), which also

provides partial coverage in neighbouring cities. It is run by URBS, a 99.9% publicly-owned

company, whose president is appointed by the Mayor of Curitiba.

Land use planning

The “trinary” road system is also complemented by land-use legislation that is encouraging high

density occupation, together with services and commerce. According to this legislation, the first two

floors of the buildings along the busway do not count against permissible plot ratios (building

height/land area), are planned for retail uses. Above the second floor, buildings must be set back at

least five meters from the property line, to allow the sun to cast on the transitway. Upper-level


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housing offers density bonuses to property owners and has led to vertical mixing of land uses

(Cervero, 2013).

An important benefit of mixed land uses is that they provide balanced bidirectional flows and ensure

efficient use of bus capacity. The higher densities along the busways are translated into higher

ridership levels. Concentrated commercial development has also channelled trips from residences

beyond BRT terminals to the trinary corridors (Cervero, 2013).

A key complementary action was the municipal government’s acquisition of land along or close to

the new transport axes prior to their construction. This permitted the local government to organize

high density housing programmes close to the BRT corridors (Rabinovitch, 1992).

Social innovation

Although Curitiba is known for its innovative public transport system, this is only one of the series of

policies implemented in order to improve the quality of life and social responsibility in the city.

According to Jaime Lerner, who was the mayor of Curitiba three times between 1971 and 1992 and

had a leading role in the city’s transformation, “if the inhabitants feel respected, they will respect the

environmental issues presented to them” (Lerner, 1996).

The municipal authorities implemented a series of policies aiming to improve the urban quality of

life. For example, the purchase of garbage programme was aimed at alleviating the hygiene and

poverty issues of the Favela (slums) residents by encouraging them to “sell” their bags of garbage in

return for bus tickets and dairy products. In addition, the city launched environmental education

programmes for all citizens in low-income districts in order to raise awareness around the issues of

urban sustainability (Rabinovitch, 1992).

In addition, the integrated planning approach allowed the expansion of green spaces and parks and

the preservation of architectural and cultural heritage in the city centre. During the 1970s, many

streets became pedestrian areas while old buildings and squares were upgraded (Rabinovitch,

1992).

Lessons learned

Strong political leadership: Curitiba followed a long-term vision for regional growth which was

coordinated by a politically insulated regional planning organization, the Institute for Research and

Urban Planning (IPPUC).

Sustained political commitment has been pivotal to Curitiba’s success. The harmonisation of transit

and land-use development took place over 40 years of political continuity, and was supported by

determined mayors who built on the work of their predecessors.

Housing: An area in which Curitiba did not perform well was the provision of public housing.

Although both public transport and public housing programmes are planned by municipal agencies,

almost all public housing built in Curitiba in the last 40 years (with the exception of that built on land

that bought along the transport corridors in the central areas) was built far from the main transport

axes. The integration of public transport and housing policies was made impossible by the fact that,

on a pragmatic basis, housing improvements were focused on areas where Favelas already existed

rather than on building new housing in different areas. However, the Favelas were generally located


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in areas where planning guidelines did not recommend building, e.g. floodplains, due to the low cost

of land.

Although improving existing conditions of irregular settlements can have an instant positive result

by providing better shelter for those in need of it, it can jeopardize long-term urban planning and

eventually reinforce the social exclusion of low income families (Cervero, 2013; Duarte and

Ultramari, 2012).

Multimodality: There is still potential for Curitiba to enhance the interaction between public

transport and other modes. Integration with non-motorized modes is particularly important, as they

often are the only option for lower income groups. In Curitiba, most terminals have taxi stands, half

of the terminals have poor pedestrian access, only 6 out of 22 can be easily and safely accessed by

bicycle, and only two have bicycle parking.

By providing taxi stands and car parks, park-and-ride schemes can be stimulated. In addition, as the

number of cars increases in the city centres and the shortage of parking spaces becomes more

intense, new car parks integrated with BRT terminals can become a source of revenue for the

municipality that can be reinvested in the public transport system (Duarte and Rojas, 2012).

Comparison with other cities: Bogota and Ahmedabad

Although Curitiba is not a megacity, its public transport and land-use practices have been considered

a leading example for bigger sized cities across the world. Comparison with other cities, shows the

importance of integrated urban and transport development.

Bogota: Bogota, the capital of Colombia is city of 9.5 million inhabitants. Bogota introduced its BRT

system, Transmilenio, in the late 1990s. The system has a capacity of 45,000 passengers per

direction per hour. The BRT lines were placed in mostly economically stagnant zones in order to

enhance affordable transport for the poor. However, the introduction of the first phase of system

was not accompanied by proactive station area planning. Neither the city nor the neighbourhood

districts prepared plans for the areas around the stations to coordinate private development, change

zoning (including increasing permissible densities), introduced complementary improvements such

as pedestrian environment or to attract private investments. Learning from their mistakes, the city

of Bogota started implementing coordinated improvements along new Transmilenio corridors,

aiming to capture the value of improvements for future public transport investments (Cervero,

2013).

Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad is India’s fifth largest city with a population of 5.5 million and one of the

fastest growing cities in the world. In 2009 Ahmedabad opened the first and largest BRT system in

India, called Janmarg. Janmarg lines were selected to serve the fastest growing areas in the city but,

similar to Bogota, little attention was given to the physical integration of bus stops with the

surrounding areas. Ahmedabad’s planning authorities are trying to maintain uniform densities

across the city, regardless of the proximity of the development to public transport corridors. This

approach is shifting growth to the periphery and will eventually lead to bigger areas to be served by

public transport, and auto-oriented development (Cervero, 2013).


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Appendix 3

Cycling in the Netherlands: Lessons learned from integrated environmental,

urban and transport planning

The Netherlands

More than any other country in the Western World, the Netherlands is famous for its high levels of

cycling. Almost every Dutch city is served by extensive cycling facilities, and the widespread

presence of cyclists is an integral part of the urban landscape, central to the very image of Dutch

cities (Pucher and Buehler, 2007).

Cycling as part of national policies

The scarcity of usable land in the Netherlands that has raised high and early awareness on spatial

development issues and its connections with natural and environmental protection. Transport

policies have always been well integrated with spatial, environmental and economic policies in order

to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability. Cycling and walking in particular, have

received significant support over the past three decades as the country put significant barriers to the

usage of private cars. Although motorization and car trips increased rapidly between 1960 and 1970,

the increase has been moderate increase ever since (Alpkokin, 2012).

The country is currently focused on allowing urban planners the freedom to formulate area specific

environmental ambitions that are based on existing functions and characteristics of urban areas. A

distinct type of ‘hybrid’ planning tool has been developed specifically for defining area based

environmental ambitions in spatial plans, coupled with the appropriate development measures. The

strong background of policy integration is expected to contribute to making the most of

environmental and spatial planning, resulting in more sustainable urban areas (Runhaaret al, 2009).

Cycling policies

The Dutch success story in making cycling so appealing is largely attributable to the coordinated

implementation of measures that reinforce the impact of each other in promoting cycling. Indeed,

the necessity of a coordinated, multifaceted approach is perhaps the key lesson to be learned from

the Netherlands (Pucher and Buehler, 2008). In order to provide as much information as possible,

the key policies and innovative measures for direct and indirect promotion of cycling in all Dutch

cities are presented in Tables 14 and 15 below.

Table 14: Key policies and innovative measures used to promote safe and convenient cycling

Extensive systems of separate cycling facilities

• Well-maintained, fully integrated paths, lanes and special bicycle streets in cities and surrounding

regions

• Fully coordinated system of colour coded directional signs for bicyclists

• Off street shortcuts, such as midblock connections and passages through dead ends for cars

Intersection modifications and priority traffic signals


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• Advance green lights for cyclists at most intersections

• Advanced cyclist waiting positions (ahead of cars) fed by special bike lanes facilitate safer and quicker crossings and turns

• Cyclist shortcuts to make right hand turns before intersections and exemption from red traffic signals at T intersections, thus increasing cyclist speed and safety

• Bike paths turn into brightly coloured bike lanes when crossing intersections

• Traffic signals are synchronized at cyclist speeds assuring consecutive green lights for cyclists (green wave)

• Bollards with flashing lights along bike routes signal cyclists the right speed to reach the next intersection at a green light

Traffic calming

• Traffic calming of all residential neighbourhoods via speed limit (30 km/hr) and physical infrastructure deterrents for cars

• Bicycle streets, narrow roads where bikes have absolute priority over cars

• ‘Home Zones’ with 7 km/hr speed limit, where cars must yield to pedestrians and cyclists using the road

Bike parking

• Large supply of good bike parking throughout the cities

• Improved lighting and security of bike parking facilities often featuring guards, video surveillance and priority parking for women

Coordination with public transport

• Extensive bike parking at all metro, suburban and regional train stations

• ‘Call a Bike’ programmes: bikes can be rented by cell phone at transit stops, paid for by the minute and left at any busy intersection in the city

• Bike rentals at most train stations

• Deluxe bike parking garages at some train stations, with video surveillance, special lighting, music, repair services and bike rentals

Traffic education and training

• Comprehensive cycling training courses for virtually all school children with test by traffic police

• Special cycling training test tracks for children

• Stringent training of motorists to respect pedestrians and cyclists and avoid hitting them

Traffic laws


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• Special legal protection for children and elderly cyclists

• Motorists assumed by law to be responsible for almost all crashes with cyclists

• Strict enforcement of cyclist rights by police and courts

Access to bikes

• Free use of distinctive, simple city bikes parked throughout the city

• Easy, convenient and inexpensive bike rentals at train stations (‘OV Fiets’)

• Company bikes loaned for free to employees who can use them during the day for short business trips

• Tax breaks to purchase a bike in the Netherlands

• Convenient air pumps for bikes in city centre

• ‘Park and Bike’: discount bike rentals for motorists who park their cars and bike for the rest of the journey

Bike trip planning

• Bicycling websites with extensive information for cyclists on bicycling routes, activities, special programmes, health benefits of cycling, bikes and bike accessories, etc.

• Flexible Internet bike trip planning tool allows finding the most comfortable or quickest route by bike tailored to the specific preferences and needs of each person

• Comprehensive bike maps for most cities as well as most regions and states

Public awareness campaigns

• Focus on health benefits of cycling

• Special fun programmes for young children

• Cycling ambassador programmes that send well trained cyclists to residential neighbourhoods to serve as role models of safe cycling and help with cycling promotion, distributing newsletters and information

• Annual bicycling festivals and car free days that promote the environmental advantages of bicycling, display the latest bike models and accessories, and disseminate various other relevant information for bike enthusiasts

• Wide range of cycling competitions for different ages and skill levels

• Special guided bike tours for seniors

Public participation in bike planning

• Regular surveys of cyclists to assess their satisfaction with cycling facilities and programmes and to gather specific suggestions for improvement

• Bike councils that provide a platform for opinion exchange among stakeholders from businesses, the bike industry, the city administration, research institutes, universities, bike experts and citizen advocacy groups

Source: Pucher and Buehler, 2008


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Table 15: Taxation, parking and land use policies that encourage cycling indirectly

Automobile speed limitations in cities

• Traffic calming of residential neighbourhoods limits cars to speeds of 30 km/hr or less

• ‘Home Zones’ in many neighbourhoods give cyclists and pedestrians equal rights to road use and limit cars to walking speed (about 7 km/hr)

• Car free zones, one way streets and artificial dead ends make car travel through the city centre slow and inconvenient

• Turn restrictions for cars but not for cyclists

• Almost no limited access motorways in city centres

• Strictly enforced speed limits and traffic rules in cities (such as police cameras at intersections)

• Frequent random speed limit enforcement checks by the police

• Advance stop lines and traffic signal priority for cyclists

Road and parking capacity limitations

• Limited number of car parking places in city centres

• Parking management schemes limit easy car access to urban neighbourhoods, often with resident only parking or strict time limits

• Replacing car parking facilities with bike parking instead

• Combined bus bike lanes that permit bike use but prohibit car use

• Deliberately narrowed roads in city centres force cars to drive slowly

• Special bicycle streets that sharply limit car speeds and give cyclists priority in roadway use over the entire width of the road

Taxation of automobile ownership and use

• High taxes and fees on car purchase, ownership and use

• Especially high excise and sales taxes on petrol

• High hourly parking rates in city centre, even in medium size cities

• High fees and strict training requirements for obtaining a driver’s licence

Strict land use planning policies

• Most land beyond already built up areas is off limits for new development

• Most new development occurs adjacent to already built up areas, which keeps overall population high

Transport and land use planning are integrated at several levels of government, with regional coordination that fosters cooperation between adjacent communities

Many local governments specifically require cycling and walking facilities for new suburban developments, thus reducing the need for car use

Mixed use zoning keeps trip distances short and feasible by bicycle and on foot


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Limited separation of land uses, thus enabling natural development of mixed use neighbourhoods

Source: Pucher and Buehler, 2008

Comparison with other cities: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Despite the cultural norms that widely favour motorized vehicles and their drivers, cycling has been

steadily gaining popularity since the 1990s in Rio de Janeiro. Cycling is considered healthy, matches

Brazilians’ widespread preoccupation with the body and is being referred to as something genuinely

‘carioca’ (part of Rio de Janeiro). Rio has 300 kilometres of physically segregated cycle paths

(ciclovias), painted lanes (ciclofaixas) and signalized shared routes (either with traffic or

pedestrians). Civil society organizations and NGOs are closely working with local planning

authorities in order to strengthen the voice of local people, enhance dialogue between all parts and

give continuity to bicycle related projects in case local administration changes after elections

(Aichinger and Reinbacher, 2010).

BikeRio, the city’s bike sharing programme is one of the most successful bike sharing systems in the

world in terms of penetration and infrastructure usage (ranked 7th in 2013). BikeRio has been

operational since 2011 and averages 6.9 trips per bike and 44.2 trips per 1,000 residents daily. The

system is operated privately by Sertell but is overseen by the city office that defines concessions in

the mayor’s cabinet and by the secretary of the environment (known as SMAC). BikeRio’s stations

are powered entirely by solar energy and are completely wireless (ITDP, 2013).Rio de Janeiro gives

an encouraging example of how to preserve or expand high levels of cycling in similar places, by

joining the potential and skills of civil society organizations and municipal governments. This

megacity proves that in postcolonial societies bicycles are being redefined as symbols of postmodern

resistance and means of more efficient, egalitarian and sustainable urban mobility.


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Appendix 4

Sustainable urban freight operations, better air quality and safety in London

London is considered to be a pioneer in city logistics and has implemented a range of initiatives to

help reduce the negative social, environmental and economic impacts of freight transport, especially

in relation to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and local air pollution (Browne et al, 2012).

The city

The urban agglomeration of London has a population of nearly 10 million (United Nations, 2014a).

The majority of the city’s freight policies and measures have been implemented since the

introduction of a Mayor of London in 2000. All efforts to promote sustainable freight have been

assisted by the formation of a freight unit in Transport for London (TfL), an executive body of the

Mayor.

Freight planning

In 2007, the Mayor of London adopted the ‘Sustainable freight distribution: a plan for London’ plan

(referred here as the Freight Plan) which set out the steps for the following five to ten years in order

to identify and begin to address the challenge of delivering freight sustainability in the city. The plan

contains proposals to deliver real improvements on the ground, alongside others designed to

improve understanding of the issues around freight and to contribute to the longer term process of

addressing London’s transport needs (TfL, 2007). TfL is currently in the process of developing the

Mayor of London’s Long Term Freight Strategy (2016-2030), which will replace the London Freight

Plan.

One of the key points made in the plan is that sustainable freight is a shared responsibility of TfL, the

London Boroughs, businesses, freight operators, and other bodies and associations. Therefore, in

order to implement the proposed measures and realise their potential new relationships, roles and

responsibilities would have to be built, particularly at sub-regional level. Communication to each

target audience was made by publishing supporting documents (for example, the rail sector,

operators, and boroughs), an ongoing process of workshops and the delivery of additional resources

related to best practice (TfL, 2007).

The key projects included in the Freight Plan are:

1) Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS): FORS is an accreditation scheme that is

available to any company operating vans or lorries in London, UK and Europe. FORS

provides operators with practical advice and guidance to help reduce fuel consumption, CO2

emissions, vehicle collisions, and penalty charges (Browne et al, 2012). The projects sets

FORS standards are a quality benchmark to be used by commissioning bodies when

awarding servicing, maintenance and delivery contracts. This provides a simple way for

clients to ensure the sustainable credentials of fleet and freight operators.

2) Delivery and Servicing Plans (DSPs): DSPs are intended to provide a framework to better

manage all types of deliveries of freight vehicle movement to and from individual buildings

of all types (e.g. shops, offices, factories, and depots). Improved freight management at sites

contributes to better operational efficiency, safety and reliability of deliveries. DSPs are

designed to reduce the number of trips to the sites and ensure the use of safe and legal


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loading facilities. This is accomplished using a range of measures including consolidation

solutions, delivery booking management systems and out-of-hours deliveries (Browne et al,

2012; TfL, 2007).

3) Construction Logistics Plans (CLPs): CLPs are similar to DSPs but provide a framework for

freight vehicle movements to and from construction sites.

Finally, the Freight Plan defined a series of measures against which progress in sustainable freight

distribution is reported annually. Continuous monitoring and reporting contribute to the timely

identification of areas for improvement and thus continuous development (TfL, 2007).

Synergies with other transport policies

The Freight Plan is complemented by safety and environmental measures and strategies for London.

Examples of complementary measures are the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and the Safer Lorry

Scheme. The LEZ covers most of Greater London and was introduced in 2008 to encourage the most

polluting heavy diesel vehicles driving in the city to become cleaner. Delivery vehicles are also

affected and need to pay a daily LEZ charge if they do not meet the emission standards. The

introduction of an Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is confirmed and will be applied in 2020. The

ULEZ will cover a smaller area than the LEZ (same as the current Congestion Charging Zone) and will

introduce even stricter emission standards for almost all vehicles.

The Safer Lorry Scheme will come into force in September 2015 and it ensures that only lorries that

meet the Mayor’s higher road safety standards will be allowed to operate on London's roads. This

includes construction vehicles, which are involved in a disproportionate number of fatal collisions

involving cyclists and pedestrians. Vehicles will have to be fitted with mirrors providing better direct

vision of vulnerable road users and side guards to protect cyclists from being dragged under the

vehicle in the event of a collision.

Lessons learned

Lessons for London come from the application of pilot schemes and the experiences during the 2012

Olympic Games.

In order to investigate the potential of DSP, a pilot project was applied at one of TfL’s main offices.

This resulted in 20% reduction of the total number of delivery trips to the site. Stationery deliveries

were reduced from twice a day to three times a week while catering delivering were also reduced by

40% (Browne et al, 2012).

The London Construction Consolidation Centre (LCCC) was a two-year trial project operated from

2005 to 2007 as part of additional projects supported by the Freight Plan. Its objective was to serve

four major construction sites in the City of London. It was intended for a rapid flow, on a just-in-time

basis, of materials from suppliers to site with storage time limited to 10 days. It is estimated that

there was a 60-70% reduction in the number of vehicles delivering to the four construction sites. It

is estimated that this resulted in a 70-80% reduction in CO2 emissions for these flows. In addition,

consolidating goods at the LCCC eliminated the use of articulated vehicles for site delivery and

significantly reduced the use of vans (Browne et al, 2012). The London Construction Consolidation

Centre is still operational, as a commercial business, and its operator is looking to replicate the

concept in other areas within London.


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The experience from the London Olympic Games in 2012 showed that through positive engagement

and collaboration, the freight industry can change the way it operates for the wider benefit of

London. The Freight Forum was established as the central focus for improving communication

between TfL and freight operators, businesses, trade associations, regulators and highway

authorities (TfL, 2013). The Forum meets twice a year and its membership grows annually.

Looking forward

Building upon the success from the 2012 Games, TfL continues to work with operations and the

wider business community to deliver better results for the city. The next actions of TfL are

organized around seven themes: better planning, improving safety, re-timing deliveries and

collections, kerbside access, effective communications, and journey planning. Examples of identified

schemes involve out-of-hours operations, revising kerbside loading guidance to ensure the safety of

vulnerable groups, and potentially using London’s waterways for freight movements (TfL, 2013).

Comparison with other cities: Paris

A significant amount of urban freight research and initiatives have been undertaken in French cities.

In Paris, a series of regulations affecting access, loading and unloading are in place, many of them

based on different criteria such as weight or size and often different times. Additional schemes have

been implemented such as local logistic points known as “Espaces Logistiques de Proximité” (ELP).

These small spaces serve as a type of micro-consolidation point serving certain areas of the city. As

most ELPs are initiated by the private sector, the city assists the initiatives by renting logistics

spaces at lower prices (Browne et al, 2012).

Other initiatives in Paris involve night deliveries using clean vehicles and the creation of a Charter of

Good Practice for Transport and Goods Delivery in Paris which promotes regulations that respect

the priorities of both the private and public sector. Finally, an interesting example of shared space

comes from Paris. A site designed to operate as a site providing construction materials during

certain times and then as a public space for the rest of the day, offers high levels of accessibility to

workers, minimizes the distances travelled for the deliveries and does not affect public space

(Browne et al, 2012).


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List of References

Cervero, R., & Golub, A. (2007). Informal transport: A global perspective. Transport Policy, 14(6),

445-457.

Cervero, R. (2013). Linking urban transport and land use in developing countries. Journal of

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